The lockdown preference for comfortable clothes rather than suits and shirts hurt Ted Baker as the company saw its revenue collapse.
The clothes retailer said revenue dived more than 44% to £352 million in the year to the end of January as the business was one of many unable to open its doors in the UK and elsewhere for large parts of the period.
Although Ted Baker saw a 22% rise in online sales, bringing in £145 million, it was unable to rely on the internet as much as other clothing firms, simply because demand dried up.
The company’s focus on suits and other more formal clothing was “adversely affected by the increase in working from home” during the pandemic, Ted Baker said.
There is evidence of this in the difference between its menswear and womenswear sales.
Men’s clothing sales dipped by more than 50%, while women bought nearly 41% less clothing.
“Demand for more formal styles and occasionwear were particularly affected by lockdown, and these represent a greater proportion of the menswear range,” the company said.
Pre-tax loss rose 29% to nearly £108 million, Ted Baker said.
Chief executive Rachel Osborne said: “While the impact of Covid-19 is clear in our results and has amplified some of the legacy issues impacting the business, Ted Baker has responded proactively and is in a much stronger place than it was a year ago.
“During the period, we delivered robust cashflow generation, fixed our balance sheet, refreshed our senior leadership team and today we are upgrading our financial targets for the second time since outlining our new strategy last summer.”
The business said its joint venture in China has performed well in its first full year of operation.
The Chinese business grew 6% despite shops having to close in the first three months of the year.
It grew by 262% in the first quarter of the current financial year, which stretches between late January and late April 2021.
