LONDON — Businesses operating the Ted Baker brand in the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain could enter administration soon, with 149 jobs at risk, industry sources told WWD.
Some five stores, four in the Netherlands and Belgium and one in Spain, could be shut soon. Seven concessions in the Netherlands and 15 concessions in Spain could also go dark if their operating businesses enter administration due to a lack of funding.
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The entities in Belgium and the Netherlands are run by AARC, Authentic’s former partner in Europe, while the Spanish business is run by a separate entity.
Teneo Financial Advisory Ltd., which is handling the brand’s administration in the U.K. and Ireland, declined to comment.
The potential closures and layoffs in Continental Europe are the latest chapter in the long-running tale of Ted Baker, whose intellectual property is owned by Authentic.
As reported earlier this month, administrators at Teneo have shut 11 unprofitable stores and laid off 145 shop floor and head office staff as they unwind the company’s U.K. and Ireland business.
Four more Ted Baker stores will shut at the request of their respective landlords, with a further 100 jobs set to be lost.
Some 120 shop floor jobs have already been eliminated in addition to 25 head office roles “as a result of a necessary reduction in central costs,” the administrators said in early April.
Authentic remains in the process of finding a new operating partner for the retail and e-commerce businesses in the U.K. and Europe.
In March, Russell Downs, the independent director of Ted Baker’s local operating company, placed Ted Baker’s U.K. and European retail and e-commerce businesses into administration shortly after a relationship with AARC turned sour.
Authentic had signed a partnership deal with AARC in April 2023 to operate Ted Baker’s 120-plus retail stores and concessions, and the brand’s online business.
According to Authentic, AARC failed to meet its financial obligations and was swiftly removed as a shareholder in the Ted Baker business.
Authentic’s other Ted Baker partnerships remain in place and are unaffected by the AARC drama. The U.S. arm of Ted Baker is not impacted.
In February, Authentic said that despite the difficulties facing U.K. and European business, it remains committed to Ted Baker and is confident in the brand’s “long-term success.”
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