‘Another blow to retail’ – Shock as popular store with seven Irish locations to close all doors in just DAYS
HIGH street retailer Ted Baker is set to close all of its Irish stores.
The fashion retail chain, which operates seven outlets in Ireland including on Grafton Street and in Arnott's in Dublin, will shut down here by next Tuesday, August 20.
It also runs shops in Blanchardstown, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Kildare.
The closure was reported on RTE's Liveline today.
It was said on live radio that all Irish stores and concessions would close for good next Tuesday.
Reacting, Liveline host Joe Duffy posted on X: "Every Ted Baker store in Ireland closing with immediate effect. WHY. Another blow to retail."
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The host said on his show that the closures "got no publicity whatsoever" until it was mentioned on the show when RTE was contacted by a member of staff.
He said: "They're closing on Tuesday, as far as I know.
"The reason why people did not know that, and I think people should be told, is because they were specifically told not to put up a closing down sign.
"If you have a concession, in BTs (Brown Thomas) or Arnotts or wherever else, you are not allowed put up a sign saying 'Closing Down' because then everyone might think the whole store is closing.
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Staff 'going to be gone'
"That means that all the staff are going to be gone, the great hard-working staff in Ted Baker, a lot of them have been there for years and years and years, they'll be gone next Tuesday and the people who go into them on a regular basis are not allowed say goodbye because they won't know they're going.
"But Ted Baker have confirmed they are closing immediately in Ireland - every single store, every single concession.
"The whole retail business is in trouble, the whole online world is exploding, people are saying online the cost of rates, rent, various other taxes that you have to pay in Ireland, insurance, but Ted Baker is going.
"So if you are in Ted Baker, will you say goodbye to the staff and wish them well for a start?
'Hopefully' employees 'will move on'
"And hope they do get other employment."
He later added: "They're closing, basically, in the next few days.
"Every single Ted Baker outlet in the country, be they in BTs (Brown Thomas), be they in Kildare Village or whatever, they're all closing and that's good people losing their jobs.
"Hopefully they will move on.
'Not taking orders'
Meanwhile, Ted Baker's EU website is also showing a message that it is "not taking orders right now".
The site is also no longer accepting returns from outside the UK.
In 2022, Ted Baker put itself up for sale due to pandemic-related losses.
Authentic Brands Group (ABG), which also owns brands such as Juicy Couture and Forever 21, bought it out for around £211m.
'Significant level of arrears'
In March of this year, it said that No Ordinary Designer Label, the firm which trades as Ted Baker, had a "significant level of arrears" and filed a motion to hire administrators from Teneo.
Teneo then announced it was shutting 15 shops in the UK in April, with the loss of 250 jobs.