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Dress to Impress: Ted Baker Says Formal Wear Back in Demand

Shoppers walk past a Ted Baker store on Regents Street in London, Britain December 17, 2018. (Reuters)
Shoppers walk past a Ted Baker store on Regents Street in London, Britain December 17, 2018. (Reuters)
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Dress to Impress: Ted Baker Says Formal Wear Back in Demand

Shoppers walk past a Ted Baker store on Regents Street in London, Britain December 17, 2018. (Reuters)
Shoppers walk past a Ted Baker store on Regents Street in London, Britain December 17, 2018. (Reuters)

Upmarket retailer Ted Baker said on Monday dresses and suits were back in demand, with Britons rediscovering a taste for formal wear as months of COVID-19 curbs on social life were slowly relaxed.

A lockdown-driven shift to casual wear hammered the fashion retailer's earnings last year, but its new boss said the performance of Ted Baker stores since their reopening in April was "very pleasing".

"Most recently we are seeing dresses back to the same level (in the) mix of our business as it was two years ago," Rachel Osborne told Reuters. "(We) are seeing people coming in for suits, the wedding season is hopefully starting."

Ted Baker shares were up 1.2% at 0754 GMT after the group reported a 59.2 million pound ($83.53 million) pretax loss for the 12 months to Jan. 30, narrower than the 76-million-pound loss forecast by analysts, according to Refinitiv Eikon data.

Osborne, who took over last year, has been working on winning back customers and investor trust after a string of setbacks that followed the departure of previous chief executive and founder Ray Kelvin following misconduct allegations.

Kelvin has denied any wrongdoing.

The company, which cut nearly 1,000 jobs and raised money through a stock issue to get through the crisis, is undergoing a three-year turnaround plan focused on saving 31 million pounds a year.

It also plans to strengthen its online presence, with 11 million pounds earmarked for its e-commerce site's revamp.

"Ted Baker needs to find a way to sustainably improve its online business, or it won't bode well for trading patterns in the post-pandemic, digital-centric world," Hargreaves analyst Sophie Lund-Yates said.

While overall sales slumped by 44% to 352 million pounds in fiscal 2021, online sales leapt 22%, though growth slowed to 4.5% in the first quarter of the current year with fewer discounts and other promotions.

Osborne said the company had also introduced more casual wear, such as joggers and sleepwear, for lockdown times. "All those really took off as a percentage mix of our business that we hadn't seen pre-COVID."

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Fashion

France's Christian Lacroix Label Heads for Spanish Ownership

Christian Lacroix was created in 1987 by the eponymous designer, with the support of luxury giant LVMH, which sold it in 2005 to Falic Group. (AFP)
Christian Lacroix was created in 1987 by the eponymous designer, with the support of luxury giant LVMH, which sold it in 2005 to Falic Group. (AFP)
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France's Christian Lacroix Label Heads for Spanish Ownership

Christian Lacroix was created in 1987 by the eponymous designer, with the support of luxury giant LVMH, which sold it in 2005 to Falic Group. (AFP)
Christian Lacroix was created in 1987 by the eponymous designer, with the support of luxury giant LVMH, which sold it in 2005 to Falic Group. (AFP)

The Spanish fashion group Sociedad Textil Lonia (STL) announced Tuesday it had reached an agreement to buy France's Christian Lacroix label, hoping to return the once-mighty brand to its former glory.

The deal to acquire Lacroix from US-based Falic group, which specializes in duty-free retail, was for an undisclosed amount in a "private transaction", STL said.

"By acquiring Maison Lacroix, with its treasure of archives and rich history of French haute couture, STL expands its brand portfolio, strengthening its international presence in the world of high fashion," STL stated in a press release.

"We will do everything we can to ensure that the unique talent of its creator and his invaluable contribution to the world of fashion reach their full potential," the group added.

Christian Lacroix was created in 1987 by the eponymous designer, with the support of luxury giant LVMH, which sold it in 2005 to Falic Group.

In 2009, following financial difficulties, the brand implemented a court-ordered recovery plan that resulted in around 100 job cuts and the discontinuation of haute couture operations.

Lacroix, now aged 73, left the group in 2010.

Having spent decades dressing celebrities, he turned to working for ballet and opera productions, as well as collaborating with other labels such as Dries Van Noten.

"The Spanish family that owns STL had the elegance to contact me ahead of the official announcement about the acquisition of the Christian Lacroix name and archives," he told Vogue Business on Tuesday. "We will probably meet soon in an informal way."

Founded in Spain in 1997, STL is a fashion company behind Spanish ready-to-wear brand Purificacion Garcia and the label of Venezuelan-American designer Carolina Herrera, employing 2,500 people and operating 600 stores worldwide, according to its website.