Ted Baker reports strong rise in sales over Christmas

The company said retail sales rose by 9 per cent compared with the same period last year

Online sales rose by 35 per cent.

Retailer Ted Baker saw its retail sales jump over the Christmas period, driven by strong growth in online sales.

The firm said retail sales increased by 9 per cent in the eight-week period to 6 January, with online sales surging by 35 per cent.

Gross margins were in-line with its previous expectations and the firm said that it expects to end the financial year with a “clean stock position”, meaning that it won’t have to cut prices to shift surplus stock.

Average retail square footage rose by 5.9 per cent during the eight-week period, as the group opened new stores in Montreal, Malaysia, Mexico and Qatar.

Its full results for the year will be released in March.

"The Ted Baker brand has continued to perform in line with expectations over the Christmas period, delivering a good retail performance driven by particularly strong growth from e-commerce, which is an increasingly important part of our retail business,” said founder and chief executive Ray Kelvin.

“Whilst external trading conditions are expected to remain challenging in the year ahead, the strength of our brand and business model means that we remain well positioned to continue the long-term development of Ted Baker as a global lifestyle brand," he added.