Focus on formal and occasion wear costs Ted Baker

Upmarket British retailer Ted Baker on Monday reported an underlying loss for the pandemic-hit fiscal 2021 and said its first-quarter revenue for the current year fell 20 per cent due to coronavirus restrictions during the period.

The British company, which has had a number of operational and management setbacks over the past two years, reported an underlying pretax loss of £59.2 million (€38.84m) for the year ended January 30th, compared to a £4.8 million profit the previous year.

Analysts on average estimated pretax loss of £76 million according to Eikon data from Refinitiv.

While some retailers have benefited from a shift towards athleisure during the pandemic, Ted Baker’s annual sales plummeted 44 per cent to £352 million partly due to its focus on formal and occasion wear. Ecommerce sales rose 22 per cent to £144.9 million.

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“While the impact of Covid-19 is clear in our results and has amplified some of the legacy issues impacting the business, Ted Baker has responded proactively and is in a much stronger place than it was a year ago,” chief executive Rachel Osborne said.

The London-listed company, under new boss Osborne, has been working on winning back customers and investor trust after a string of setbacks that followed the departure of previous chief executive and founder Ray Kelvin following misconduct allegations. He has denied the accusations.