Sales at Ted Baker have risen by 11% despite “challenging” trading conditions, particularly in Hong Kong and mainland Europe.
The British fashion brand said it was likely to meet profit expectations for the year after its new stores in Beijing, Ottawa and Seattle helped lift retail sales by 12.7% in the 19 weeks to 11 June.
Online sales rose by 32% as the company launched its first dedicated website in Germany. The chain’s founder and chief executive, Ray Kelvin, said Ted Baker wanted to open local language websites around the world, with France likely to be next.
Wholesale sales gained 7.3% after the group performed well in North America, although the UK business was adversely affected by the timing of some deliveries, according to analysts.
Shares in the company rose more than 7% on Tuesday amid relief that it had shrugged off the difficulties experienced by other British retailers during the chilly spring.
Austin Reed blamed challenging retail market conditions for its fall into administration in April. In May, Next cut its guidance for annual sales for the second time in less than two months after a disappointing three months.
The independent analyst Nick Bubb said the 3% rise in sales at established stores was reassuring and slightly better than expected.
Kelvin added that Ted Baker’s results demonstrated the strength of the brand underpinned by a well-executed multichannel growth strategy. He said: “We are very pleased with the response from our customers over this period and remain well-positioned to deliver our expectations for the full year.”
He said the company was outperforming other retailers such as Austin Reed because Ted Baker was a lifestyle brand that had not focused too heavily on one geographical market or sales channel, such as the high street. “Hopefully we’ve got a robust strategy and will continue to outperform in a difficult market,” Kelvin said.
Rebecca Marks, an analyst at Verdict Retail, said Ted Baker’s high quality and attention to detail resonated well with its core 25- to 45-year-old customers. She said the brand’s strong sales showed some shoppers were prepared to pay more for better quality and design.
“Ongoing investment in its product range, such as its newly launched luxury everyday style collection for women, Colour by Numbers, will help ensure the global lifestyle brand is well positioned to build on the momentum achieved in Q1 during the rest of the 2016-17 financial year,” she said.
