Ted Baker
Ray Kelvin launched his initial venture as a specialist shirt store in Glasgow. Ted Baker swiftly became the premier place to purchase some of the best contemporary men’s shirting in Scotland.
From it’s inception Ted Baker has had clear focus on attention to detail and quality but with design based on a interesting and funny point of view. Indeed the first Ted Baker shops used to provide a laundry service for every shirt purchased – an intiative that gave Ted Baker the tagline of ‘No Ordinary Designer Label’. From then on, everything made by Ted Baker has his personality woven into its design.
The Ted Baker strategy to marketing remains the same as it was in it’s early days … basically, by word of mouth and out of the ordinary marketing. What other brand would give away Paxo stuffing at Christmas??!?! Yes, Ted Baker remains one of the only brands to be built into an international designer label without an advertising campaign.
Because Ted Baker chooses not to advertise in the conventional way, the company must do everything they can to support their designer ranges in a more consistent, different and fun manner.
The Ted Baker Timeline
The first Ted Baker store was opened in Glasgow in 1988 and following initial success, this is quickly followed by stores in Manchester and Nottingham. By 1990 Ted Baker opens a store in Covent Garden and the founder buys the company from Goldberg and Sons, part-owners of the company at that time.
By 1994 Ted Baker had opened stores in Liverpool, West Soho (London) and Leeds; and the company began to offer the label in other stores through a wholesale scheme whereby Ted Baker calls retailers of the brand, trustees. The company “entrusts” the Ted Baker brand handpicked partners who withhold the brand's special star qualities!
In 1996 Ted Baker aimed to do what “The Beatles” did, and began to conquer the States through a wholesale scheme. A year later European expansion commenced in Zurich through franchising. Then in 1998 a Ted Baker store is opened in New York.
Between 1998 and 2002 the company introduces a number of interesting collections including “Skinwear” cosmetics, underwear, eyewear, and footwear. The Ted Baker portfolio becomes one of the most impressive collections in the world.
In 2007, following aggressive expansion Ted Baker has a combination of standalone stores, concessions within department stores and independent “trustees”, Ted can now be found in pretty much all of the UK’s fashion centres! The future looks rosy for the Ted Baker brand.
