Ted Baker reports jump in retail sales over holiday season

8th Jan 2015 08:21

Ted Baker reported a 22.8% rise in retail sales over the holiday period as shoppers stocked up for the festive season, according to a trading update on Thursday.In the period from 9 November to 3 January average retail square footage rose by 9.2% to 331,208 compared to a tough comparative period a year ago.The company said gross margins were "in line with expectations and, as in previous years, there was no significant promotional activity before Christmas".The luxury fashion brand added that sales since Christmas have been "particularly strong" and it expects to end the year with a clean stock position.The e-commerce business saw sales up 65.7%, driven by growth in the UK and a strong performance in the US following the migration of the US website to a new platform in July 2014.Ray Kelvin, founder and chief executive hailed a "great performance"."Further underlying growth and brand momentum has been delivered as a result of our unswerving focus on product quality and the passion and dedication of our skilled team. We will continue to invest in people and infrastructure as we expand the Ted Baker brand globally."Broker Liberum upgraded the current year's profit before tax by 2.3% to £48.5m and 2016 expectations by 3.6% to £55.1m."This strong result supports our investment thesis, that TED can consistently deliver high growth, largely funded from operating cash flow, showing rare fiscal discipline. TED has invested well ahead of growth and now has the infrastructure in place to drive the next stage of development."