Revenues up 14.6% at Ted Baker

Ted Baker, the British designer brand is pleased to announce a 14.6% increase in Group revenue for the 19 week period from 29t January 2012 to 9th June 2012, compared to the same period last year.

Retail sales for the period were 16.2% above the same period last year, while average retail square footage rose by 12.0% to 259,936 sq.ft. (2011: 232,157 sq.ft.).  We are pleased with performance across all territories despite a backdrop of challenging trading conditions.

During the period we opened additional concessions in the US, Spain and Ireland and we have recently opened a new store on the Brompton Road, London.  We also continued to expand into new international markets, opening our first store in Tokyo, Japan, and new concessions with leading department stores in the Netherlands and South Korea.

Wholesale sales for the period were 8.9% above the same period last year, primarily driven by the continued growth of our US wholesale business. We expect full year growth to be at a similar level.

Gross margins were, as anticipated, in line with last year.

Our product and territorial licences continue to perform in line with expectations and new licensed store openings are planned in Indonesia and Malaysia later this year.

Whilst we have been pleased with the Group's performance to date, which is in line with the Board's expectations, we remain mindful of the uncertain economic environment in which we operate.

We intend to announce our interim results for the 28 weeks ending 11th August 2012 on 4th October 2012.

Commenting on trading, Ray Kelvin CBE, Founder and Chief Executive said:

"The Group has made a good start to 2012, despite continued uncertainty in the trading environment. This is a testament to the strength of our brand, our collections and above all, the commitment of our team.

We continue to develop the Ted Baker brand in the UK and overseas.  We opened a new store on the Brompton Road, London last week, and have exciting international store openings planned for the coming months, including Fifth Avenue, New York, Harbour City, Hong Kong and our first stores in Toronto, Canada, along with Beijing and Shanghai, China.

Ted Baker remains committed to design, quality and attention to detail as we continue to carefully expand the brand."

Ted Baker