Ted Baker Brand

The ‘No Ordinary Designer Label’ story

Having launched as a shirt specialist of some repute in Glasgow Ted Baker quickly became the place to buy some of the very best contemporary men’s shirting around.

From the beginning Ted has had a very clear, unswerving, focus on quality, attention to detail and a quirky sense of humour, so much so in fact that the first stores used to provide a laundry service for every shirt purchased – something that gained the quickly growing brand the title of ‘No Ordinary Designer Label’. Everything produced under the Ted Baker name has his personality woven into its very heart.

As you would expect from Ted, the approach to marketing the brand remains the same as it was from day one … primarily by word of mouth and out of the ordinary marketing. What other brand would give away Paxo stuffing at Christmas, a can of chocolate bunny hotpot for Easter, or even special world-cup 2006 football cards, Roy of the Rovers style? Ted remains one of the only brands to be built into an international designer label without an advertising campaign.

As Ted chooses not to advertise, he must do everything he can to support the collections in a more consistent, different and fun manner. We hope you’ll agree our new ‘no ordinary designer website’ does this down to a tee.

• Ted Baker is one of the fastest-growing leading lifestyle brands in the UK.
• The collections have expanded rapidly since its beginnings as a menswear brand in Glasgow in 1987.
• Today Ted Baker offers a wide range of collections including: Menswear, Womenswear, Global, Endurance, Accessories, Fragrance, Skinwear, Footwear, Eyewear and Watches.
• Ted Baker has a portfolio of stores in the UK and the USA and is also present in leading department stores.
• After signing three new territorial license agreements in 2006 and initially opening stores in Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai we've continued our expansion in 2007 with the opening of a further store in Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, three in Kuala Lumpar and two each in Dubai and Jakarta. We also have locations in Taiwan and Bangkok.

Ted's timeline

1987 – The idea for a global brand came to Ted whilst fishing.

1988 – We opened our first store in Glasgow, quickly followed by King Street, Manchester and Nottingham Exchange Arcade.

1990 – The first London store started trading in Covent Garden and the company was bought outright from Goldberg and Sons.

1992 – The Blue Baker collection was launched.

1993 – We opened stores in Soho, London, Leeds Victoria Quarter and Bridlesmith Gate, Nottingham. What’s more, Ted Baker became a privately owned company.

1994 – We entrusted the brand to others and launched the wholesale business in the UK. We also opened a new store in Button Street, Liverpool.

1995 – We launched the Ted Baker Woman and Ted Baker Lite lines.

1996 – We began wholesale trading in the USA at Magic 1996. Shortly afterwards we launched Teddy Boy, or ‘small cuts dressed by Ted’. We then opened a womenswear store in Nottingham and extended the stores in Covent Garden and Leeds.

1997 – Ted Baker became a public company – Ted Baker PLC, trading as ‘No Ordinary Designer Label Limited’. We also extended and refurbished the stores in Liverpool and Glasgow.

1998 – What a corker. We opened our very first standalone store on American soil in New York, and www.tedbaker.co.uk went live for the first time. Launches for Skinwear and Underwear made for an exciting year.

1999 – The Endurance suit was created – a legend was born. We launched a new Woman fragrance, and the online store trades for the first time. We then opened a womenswear store in The Manchester Triangle Centre, a store in Bluewater and our first location in Stockholm.

2000 – We launched the Ted Baker Footwear and Teddy Girl collections. We moved to our new home, The Ugly Brown Building, and signed the US licence with Hartmarx Corp. Furthermore, we opened the largest Ted Baker store to date in Birmingham, as well as new stores in Richmond, Canary Wharf and King’s Road, London.

2001 – The Sunglasses and Eyewear collections were launched and Pentland signed the licence agreement for Ted Baker Footwear. We opened our first airport store at Gatwick South and saw Ted Baker join Bloomingdale’s in New York thanks to our friends across the pond. We also launched the jean collection, as well as opening yet another store in Sheffield.

2002 – This was a busy one. We opened stores in Heathrow airport, Paris, San Jose and Miami, as well as a new flagship store in Covent Garden. Two new fragrances, ‘M’ and ‘W’, were unveiled, and Ted Baker Home and Watches were launched for autumn. In November, we became the sponsors of Team Bath, the first university football side in 113 years to play in the first round of the FA cup.

2003 – Our luxury collection, Global, was launched along with its own limited edition fragrance of the same name. A three floor standalone store was opened in Manchester, as well as a move to another store in King’s Road, London.

2004 – We took our first steps into Australia and New Zealand, as well as opening new stores in San Francisco, Las Vegas, Regent St, London, Stansted airport and Guildford. The new Phantom collection was unveiled, together with the launch of a new Ted Baker fragrance, ‘Secondskin’. What’s more, we opened our Westbourne Grove ‘Best in Show’ boutique.

2005 – We launched ‘Secondscent’, a new women’s fragrance, as well as Archive, the classic shirt and tie collection, and the exclusive to Boots Bodywear collections. We signed three new licence agreements for Asia and the Middle East, while new export partners for Benelux came on board. We expanded further into USA with openings in Los Angeles, Dallas, and a new womenswear store in New York. Closer to home, we had a new store in Nottingham, as well as renovations to the Heathrow store and Selfridges London concession.

2006 – We became the official suit supplier to the Qantas Socceroos for the World Cup, and supported our home side with a limited edition ‘Pride of England’ Skinwear bottle. We also launched another extraordinary new fragrance, ‘XO’, for men and women. We introduced the MKIII Endurance suit, using the best in performance fabrics and contemporary designs. New export partners for Spain, Portugal and Andorra joined us, while another store opened in Orange County, California and our womenswear concession in Selfridges London was relocated and updated.

2007 – Another action packed year. Eleven new locations were unveiled overseas, with stores in Dublin, Melbourne, and Miami. Here in the UK, we opened a store in Gatwick’s North Terminal, plus an exquisite womenswear boutique in Langley Court, Covent Garden. By the end of the year, we’d launched the Pashion menswear collection and Livewire Endurance suits. Not to mention our childrenswear collection with Debenhams; Baker by Ted Baker. To top it all off, we created a jewellery line and two mobile phones – The Button and The Needle.

2008 – Our biggest project was opening Ted Baker & Friends, a one-stop shop in Cheapside, London. The store includes a barbers, a shoe shining service, and a virtual concierge. Our 20th year also saw us open eight more standalone locations, including stores in Belfast, Cambridge, Heathrow T5 and two in Westfield London – one of which offers our exclusive Pashion menswear collection. We also opened our first store in Athens, Greece. The icing on the cake was being awarded Superbrand status – proof that we’re considered one of the top 500 brands in the UK

2009 – This summer saw the launch of Born – our casual menswear collection – which created quite a stir. Meanwhile, we opened our third store in Taiwan, located in Taipei 101 – a skyscraper hailed as one of the Seven New Wonders of the world. What’s more, we opened a new outlet in Orlando and found a new home for our menswear concession in Selfridges London. While new stores are due to open in Boston, USA and Chadstone, Australia, later this year. We’re also planning the launch of B by Ted Baker – a lingerie collection that’s being created exclusively for Debenhams. 

2010 – Ted creates his exclusive lingerie collection, B by Ted Baker, for Debenhams, opens his first standalone Grooming Room and launches his extraordinary new fragrances, Langley & Pashion. A brand-spanking new US website (as well as stores in NYC, Santa Monica, Scottsdale & Chicago) also open for business and the world’s first Twitter operated styling studio – ‘Take on Ted’ – hits the headlines.

2011 – The year began with a Royal fanfare when the closest man to Ted, Ray Kelvin, was awarded a CBE by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth for services to the fashion industry. In the UK, Ted’s store in Bluewater got bigger and better, and two brand new stores also arrived in Manchester (Trafford and Spinningfields). Ted’s Sweet Shoppe, a mouth-watering pop-up store for Ted’s delicious accessories, and Ted’s Beauty Spot (the perfect place for sitting pretty) also made their acclaimed debut. Overseas, Ted said “je t’aime” to his new (St Germain) and improved (Le Marais) stores in Paris, and opened his doors for the first time in New Zealand and San Diego. Phew! Oh and if that wasn’t enough, Ted also made himself a home from home in the USA at Bloomingdale’s and El Corte Ingles in Spain/Portugal.