Authentic announces new licensees for Ted Baker to relaunch in the US and Canada

Authentic Brands Group (Authentic), the global brand development, entertainment and marketing platform has announced foundational licensing partners for Ted Baker to secure the future of the British fashion brand in the US and Canada.

Authentic, which owns the Ted Baker intellectual property, has signed licensing agreements with United Legwear & Apparel Co. (ULAC), BCI Brands and Peerless Clothing.

Jarrod Weber, global president, of sports and lifestyle at Authentic, said in a statement: “Ted Baker is an iconic high street brand known throughout the world for its classic British designs.

“Establishing a new and vibrant core business in the US and Canada is an essential building block for the revitalization of this brand. Today we announced strategic partnerships with three esteemed Authentic partners that will reinforce Ted Baker’s presence, bolster its credibility and forge enduring connections with premier retailers across the US and Canada.”

Authentic signs licensing deals with ULAC, BCI Brands and Peerless Clothing for Ted Baker

United Legwear has been brought on to design and manufacture Ted Baker-branded men’s sportswear, golf and denim categories. It will be responsible for all wholesale and concession shops, as well as operating the Ted Baker e-commerce site in the US and Canada.

Christopher Volpe, chief operating and financial officer at ULAC, added: "We are thrilled to join forces with Authentic for Ted Baker. We look forward to bringing our deep understanding of the men's sportswear market, as well as our commitment to product innovation to fuel the brand's growth and success.”

Authentic has also signed a long-term deal with Peerless, which will design and manufacture Ted Baker tailored clothing, dress shirts and outerwear for the US and Canada.

“Peerless has a remarkable ability to develop tailored clothing in the right fit and price point for every brand they become associated with,” added Weber. “They continue to demonstrate their end-to-end solution capabilities to the market through our existing partnerships across Authentic’s brands, including Vince, Hart Schaffner Marx, Hickey Freeman, Van Heusen and Izod, among others, and we look forward to welcoming them to Ted Baker.”

While BCI Brands will take on women’s sportswear, dresses and denim for North America.

British retailer Ted Baker called in administrators for its UK operations in March after struggling to deal with the damage caused by a partnership with former collaborator AARC. This was followed by the Ted Baker Group, consisting of Ted Baker Canada and Ted Baker Inc., filing for Chapter 15 in the US Bankruptcy Court in New York. In the court filing, the group said the move was due to “liquidity constraints” caused by “negative cash flows and working capital issues”, among other things.