Ted Baker mulls head office job cuts

Upmarket brand Ted Baker is reportedly undergoing a strategic review of its head office staff in London, with 30 jobs at risk.

Employees working in departments including sales and merchandising could be impacted, Drapers reports.

It comes after the British brand was bought by Reebok-owner Authentic Brands Group late last year in a deal valued at 211 million pounds.

A Ted Baker spokesperson told Drapers: “Due to the current macroeconomic challenges in the UK, we’re having to make some difficult decisions at Ted Baker to reshape our business for the future. As part of this, we will be entering into a period of consultation with some of our UK team members, excluding those working in our retail stores.

“We’re sad to have to take this action and will be supporting our team members throughout the process. We remain confident in our long-term prospects under new ownership and that we are well-positioned to continue providing our customers with a great product and great service.”

Ted Baker had been struggling for several years prior to its acquisition by Authentic, with its share price plummeting.

In its most recent trading update, for the second quarter ended July 29, revenue increased 3.4 percent year-on-year, but was still 28.3 percent below levels from the second quarter of fiscal year 2020.

It said at the time it expects to see a continued trend of customers choosing to shop in physical stores as high street footfall and global travel continue to recover, but warned that “until the current issues with the new e-commerce platform are resolved”, it expects to see “a drag on traffic and conversion rates”.