ICSM BUSINESS NEWS: relief as retailer Ted Baker accepts £211 million takeover by Reebok’s owner

Pic from Bloomberg

ICSM BUSINESS NEWS: suppliers breath a sigh of relief as retailer Ted Baker accepts £211 million takeover by Reebok’s owner

By Harry Mottram: suppliers and staff of the international retailer Ted Baker may well feel some relief after the immediate future of the firm was assured following its takeover by the USA’s Authentic Brands Group.

With 400 fashion stores around the world but saddled with debt and having taken a hit during Covid, the company put itself up for sale this sprint. There followed several failed take-over bids (including one for £300 million) which put further pressure on its share price and fears for its future.

Authentic Brands Group owns Reebok, Juicy Couture and the image rights to Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe and so when they offered £211 million the company decided to take it.

Authentic Brands believes Ted Baker’s ‘distinctive British lifestyle brand with a rich, authentic heritage and strong worldwide customer recognition’, makes it a valuable brand and some might say that despite the retailer’s estimate £15 million debts is a bargain at £211 million.

Damaged by the move to online sales, the decline of the high street, working from home and lockdowns during the Covid crisis some in the industry wondered if Ted Baker could survive. The 50% drop in its value didn’t help in recent years but there has been a revival of workers going back to their offices and buying new suits and fashionable workwear from the likes of Ted Baker. The retailer has more than 400 stores around the world including concessions and employs over 2,000 workers and has thousands of suppliers from major manufacturers to sole traders. 

The BBC reported that: “Sales for the year to 29 January jumped by more than 20% to £428.2m. Pre-tax losses shrank from to £44.1m from £107.7m in the year before. Ted Baker saw its share price jump by 17% to 109p after it confirmed the offer from Authentic Brands.”

Certainly, suppliers of the retailer will be relieved as will the staff - and perhaps we may finally see some stability in the high street and a return to more predictable shopping trends – assuming the cost of living crisis can be tackled by the Government.

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