Ted Baker to Open on Robertson
Ted Baker Plc. has put an undeniably British accent on contemporary men’s and women’s apparel, and this increasingly popular, London-based retailer will be opening a store on Los Angeles’ Robertson Boulevard the first week of June, according to Craig Smith, the company’s brand communications director.
The Ted Baker boutique will open at 131 N. Robertson Blvd. Chuck Dembo of Dembo & Associates brokered the deal.
While all Ted Baker stores maintain separate personalities, according to Smith the Los Angeles store will be most similar to the company’s showcase store in the Westbourne Grove section of London.
“Los Angeles is going to have a slightly higher profile than the other stores,” Smith said. “It will offer a more discerning product to a more discerning customer.” The Robertson Boulevard store will stock the entire Ted Baker collection of menswear, womenswear and accessories. It will also have occasional one-of-a-kind pieces available to Los Angeles’ Ted Baker aficionados.
The United States is home to five Ted Baker stores. The first one was opened in New York in 1997, followed by stores in Miami and in San Jose, Calif. In 2004 the company built two stores, one in San Francisco and the other at The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
Smith characterized the company’s American expansion as slow and deliberate. “We want to choose good locations, instead of choosing any locations that are available,” Smith said. The company also focused on opening a store that was a good distance from the Fred Segal stores on Melrose Avenue and in Santa Monica, which have been carrying Ted Baker clothes since 1991. Ted Baker also is carried at department stores such as Nordstrom.
Ted Baker earned $161.4 million in sales in 2004, with sales growth of 39 percent for the year. Chief Executive Officer Raymond Kelvin owns 44 percent of the company’s stock. —Andrew Asch
