Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group is closing in on a deal to become the new British partner of struggling fashion brand Ted Baker.
According to Sky News, the retail giant is set to be named the preferred partner for the retailer’s UK business following the collapse of its existing licensing partner No Ordinary Designer Label (NODL).
Industry sources said that Frasers and NODL’s administrators hoped to reach a deal in the coming days.
If successful, Ted Baker will work closely with the brand’s parent company Authentic Brands Group.
Ted Baker will add to Frasers Group’s rapidly expanding portfolio of brands, sitting alongside Gieves & Hawkes, Jack Wills and I Saw It First. Frasers has also been ominously increasing its stake in Manchester fast fashion giant boohoo for some time, including becoming its largest shareholder last October.
Next was also reported to have expressed an interest in Ted Baker, as well as the brand’s US licensing partner OSL.
The retailer’s UK operation still includes dozens of shops, despite NODL’s administrators at Teneo shuttering 15 stores and scrapping more than 200 jobs last month.
