Retail sales including e-commerce sales flied 20.1 per cent year over year at Ted Baker, a global lifestyle brand and retailer in the 28 weeks to August 15, 2015. “In the first half of fiscal 2016, Ted Baker retail sales surged 20.1 per cent to £ 168.2 million on a 6.6 per cent increase in average square footage,” a Ted Baker press release stated. Of which, UK and Europe retail sales were up 14.7 per cent over the same period of prior fiscal to £120.9 million, while North America retail sales drove up higher by 37.4 per cent to £39.7 million. “Retail sales in Asia too surged 31.0 per cent year on year to £7.6 million, while ecommerce sales climbed by a massive 63.6 per cent to £22.9 million,” the UK based brand added. Ted Baker further added that wholesale sales also rose steeply by 39.1 per cent over the previous fiscal’s first half to £58.6 million, while license income was up 16.7 per cent to £6.4 million. Profit before tax and exceptional items in the period under review increased by 23.4 per cent to £17.8 million as against £14.4 million in the first half of fiscal 2015. In the first half of fiscal 2016, profit before tax rose 14.6 per cent to £17.8 million compared to £15.6 million in the fiscal ago period. Adjusted basic earnings per share, excluding exceptional items grew by 23.1 per cent to 29.8 pence vis-à-vis 24.2 pence in same period of earlier fiscal. Net interest payable during the period was £0.6 million as against £0.6 million in the reporting period of last fiscal. “The net foreign exchange loss during the period of £0.7 million was due to the translation of monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies,” the company observed. Founder Ray Kelvin said, “This strong performance across all channels and territories is testament to the growing strength of Ted Baker as a leading global lifestyle brand.” “Supported by on-going and careful investment in the brand, we continue to attract customers both in the UK and overseas to our quality, design and attention to detail,” he added. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the teams across the world for their hard work and commitment,” Kelvin informed. During the reporting period, Ted Baker added a new store each in UK, Canada and Hong Kong and one new outlet in South Korea. It also signed further concessions with leading department stores across the UK and Europe, the US and Asia and new licensee store openings in Azerbaijan, Dubai, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan and Thailand.
