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Fashion retailer Ted Baker descended further into crisis as it issued a stark profit warning, scrapped its dividend and announced the immediate departure of both its chief executive and executive chairman.
Lindsay Page, the chief executive, has been replaced on an interim basis by finance director Rachel Osborne. Page had taken over from the company’s founder Ray Kelvin in April, after the latter was accused of a regime of “forced hugs” and harassment. David Bernstein, the executive chairman, has also quit and been succeeded by Sharon Baylay, an independent director, as acting chair.
The retailer expects to make a full-year profit before tax of £5m, “with a potential outcome of up to £10m dependent on Christmas trading and final year-end review”. Last year, it posted a pretax profit of £50.9m.
Ted Baker said trading in November and during the Black Friday period was worse than expected, and it expects difficult conditions to continue. Retail sales fell 6.4% between 11 August and 7 December, while wholesale rose 13.7%, leaving overall revenues down 1.2%.
The firm has hired independent consultants Alix Partners to carry out a review of its operational efficiency, costs and business model. A separate review of its assets began in October.
The update comes a week after the chain admitted it had overestimated the value of its stock and appointed a law firm to carry out a review.
The company said: “The last 12 months has undoubtedly been the most challenging in our history.”
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