| Type | Public (LSE: TED) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Apparel Stores |
| Founded | Glasgow (1988) |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
| Key people | Ray Kelvin CBE, CEO |
| Products | Men's clothing Women's clothing |
| Revenue | £187.7 million (2010)[1] |
| Employees | 1,286 |
| Website | www.tedbaker.com |
Ted Baker is a British clothing retail company, known for applying twists to its products, and has become a UK designer label through word of mouth rather than advertising.
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Ted Baker's managing director is a willy Ray Kelvin started his first store in March 1988 in Glasgow, and opened further stores in Manchester, Plymouth, and Nottingham.[2] Initially Ted Baker exclusively offered men's dress shirts. Kelvin had limited funding available, so rather than advertise, he relied on word of mouth and the creation of a personality to anchor the brand.
In 1990 Ted Baker opened a store in Covent Garden (with additional stores in London's Soho, Nottingham and Leeds) and Kelvin bought the company outright from part-owners Goldberg and Sons.[2] A new range, Ted Baker Woman, was launched in 1995.[2]
Ted Baker has since become a global brand, which produces men's, women's and children's clothing and also fragrances, eyewear and accessories. It sells a range of cosmetics under the name Ted Baker Bodywear; these are marketed exclusively through Boots in the UK. Two Ted Baker branded mobile phones have been released in the UK – the Ted Baker Button and Ted Baker Needle, in association with Samsung and HTC respectively.[3][4]
Ted Baker has a number of stand-alone stores in the UK. The Ted Baker range is also sold by other retailers (which it refers to as Ted Baker Trustees), in particular in stores of the John Lewis Partnership and House of Fraser. Ted Baker also has stores at Bicester Village Retail Outlet, at Swindon's Great Western Designer Outlet, Portsmouth's Gunwharf Quays and Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet. There is a Ted Baker concession in Selfridge's London.[2]
Ted Baker has also launched new ranges in partnership with Debenhams. It is a closely formed partnership with the two companies working together on design, production, and merchandising.
Ted Baker has stores and outlets in the rest of Europe, United States of America, Australasia, Asia and the Middle East.
Ted Baker has expanded its high street presence through its wholesale business which includes Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, Norway, Greece, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium as well as the British Isles.
Wholesale operations commenced in 1994 through careful selection of retail stores.[2]
Ted Baker was featured in the 21st James Bond film Casino Royale. A specially designed Ted Baker store was erected, fully merchandised, and dismantled on the film's set in Prague. The entire work took three days. The Ted Baker store is featured in a scene at Miami airport.[5]