Ted Baker to close all remaining shops this week putting 500 jobs at risk

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Ted Baker’s remaining 31 stores are expected to close this week, five months after falling into administration.

More than 500 jobs are set to be at risk, as talks with retail tycoon Mike Ashley over a future licensing partnership appear to have stalled.

The business behind the fashion brand’s UK shops, No Ordinary Designer Label Limited (NODL), collapsed in March, with its administrators overseeing the closure of the stores.

According to a source speaking to Sky News, Tuesday is expected to be the last day of trading.

Since the announcement that it had fallen into administration, it has closed 15 shops in the UK, resulting in about 245 staff being made redundant.

Prior to the insolvency, Ted Baker had 46 UK stores and employed around 975 people.

Authentic Brands, the US-based firm behind Juicy Couture and Reebok, is still the owner of Ted Baker’s intellectual property, with Mr Ashley’s Fraser Group reported to have been discussing a deal with Authentic encompassing both Ted Baker and Reebok.

The collapse of the UK stores could mark the end of its position on high streets, after being founded in 1988 by Ray Kelvin and recognised for its patterned and floral clothing.

The brand is currently still sold through department stores and retailers such as John Lewis and House of Fraser.

Its difficulties began in 2019 after its founder faced claims of inappropriate conduct, which he denied, with his successor Lindsay Page and chair David Bernstein resigning the following year after a profit warning.

The company was delisted from the London stock market in 2022 with NODL partly blaming the process on damage done during a partnership with Dutch company AARC Group and the “significant level of arrears” that had built up during the association.

No Ordinary Designer Label decided to end the partnership with AARC in January, saying that the partner had not met its promises to inject cash into the business.