Ted Baker reports strong rise in christmas sales In the US, the retailer said it was continuing to build brand awareness, while in Asia, where it is in the early stage of investing in new markets, it was "encouraged" by the initial response to the brand and collections. Ray Kelvin, founder and chief executive at Ted Baker, said: "We were pleased by the performance in markets where the brand is established and continue to build brand awareness in our newer markets, where we are investing for the longer term. We remain focussed on the continued development of the brand globally with further store openings planned in Shanghai, China in the first half of 2013. Many other retailers that have released trading statements in the past week have commented that there was a prominence of promotions in the run up to Christmas. However, Ted Baker said that, as in previous years, there was no significant promotional activity pre-Christmas. A surge in online sales helped to stabilise retailers during the festive period despite the uncertain economic outlook weighing on consumer spending during the vital festive period, according to closely-watched data. Like-for-like sales rose 0.3pc for retailers in December, the British Retail Consortium and KPMG sales monitor said, suggesting that the high street avoided a calamitous Christmas. Ted Baker also announced in a separate statement that Robert Breare is to step down with immeditate affect as non-executive chairman after more than 11 years in the role. He will be replaced by David Bernstein, who is currently the senior independent non executive.