The owner of Ted Baker will on Wednesday announce that it has struck a deal with an American group to re-establish an online presence in the UK, days after its remaining retail stores were shut for good.
Sky News has learnt that Authentic, which has owned Ted Baker since 2022, has struck a deal with United Legwear and Apparel Co (ULAC) to operate an e-commerce presence for the brand in Britain and Europe.
ULAC, which has partnerships of varying kinds with clothing brands including Skechers, Puma North American, Scotch & Soda and DKNY, is already Authentic’s operating partner for Ted Baker in the US and Canada, meaning it is already familiar with the brand, insiders said.
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Retail industry sources said the deal would be announced on Wednesday, with the partnership launching in the autumn.
It comes just days after Sky News revealed that dozens of Ted Baker stores were closing permanently following a breakdown in talks between Authentic and Frasers Group, the high street empire founded by Mike Ashley.
Administrators to Ted Baker’s existing partner, No Ordinary Designer Label (NODL), which collapsed in the spring, oversaw the closure of its remaining 31 UK shops, with the loss of more than 500 jobs.
NODL’s administrator, Teneo, was forced to close 15 Ted Baker stores earlier in the year, a move which caused 200 people to be made redundant.
Ted Baker was delisted from the London stock market in 2022 after being bought by Authentic, headed by the entrepreneur Jamie Salter, for about £210m.
The retailer’s torrid period began in 2019 when founder Ray Kelvin left amid claims of inappropriate behaviour towards colleagues.
It was subsequently forced to issue a string of profit warnings and accounting mishaps, having to address the COVID-19 pandemic from a position of financial weakness.
In 2020, it axed hundreds of jobs and raised £100m to shore up its balance sheet.
Authentic declined to comment.