Julian Rayner

Lakeland’s customers are rather different from other retailers’. They’re as much loyal followers of a cult as they are shoppers.

And those followers have been voting with their feet, as well as their purses. As Retail Week revealed last week, pre-tax profits soared from £4.2m to £10.2m last year, when turnover increased 5.3% to £141.9m.

Lakeland’s legion of eager fans flock to its stores for many reasons - including the customer service that it takes great pride in - but it is product innovation that is king for the quirky homewares retailer. And it is Julian Rayner, one of the founder’s sons, that drives that innovation, working closely with his brothers Martin and Sam.

The trio - who all run and own the company - transformed a mail-order business into a thriving retail chain that is frequently described as a darling of the well-heeled middle classes.

But it is Julian Rayner who handles the store side of the business and is the face of the brand, albeit reluctantly. He doesn’t care for the limelight and shuns most industry events and press.

Rayner, who would not describe himself as being any kind of a domestic god, just likes to get on with the job that he has been doing since he was 18. As a teenager he and his brothers were thrown in at the deep end to run the business after their father Alan left with the company secretary.

Callum Lumsden, creative director of store design agency Small Back Room, has known Rayner for 14 years and highlights his attention to detail. Lumsden says: “Lakeland is a cult and Julian is the guy that’s put it on the map. Innovation is top of the list for Lakeland, and Julian pushes that all the way down the line.”

Rayner - still based in Windemere where Lakeland was founded - is a keen marketeer who also has an eye for design, insisting on classic store designs in often beautiful locations, including listed buildings.

“He’s challenging,” says Lumsden. “He doesn’t rest with one solution, he always wants to change things. He understands design and wants to be up there with the great and the good. He’s very determined and open minded.”

Rayner travels the world for inspiration, including the US where he has a particular admiration for homewares brand Williams Sonoma.

Described by Lumsden as loyal and straightforward, Rayner’s other talent lies with putting the customer at the heart of everything he does. And it does not go unnoticed among Lakeland devotees. When the retailer came top in a recent Which? survey that ranked shops for customer experience, it received piles of fan mail congratulating it on such high standards. “He’s completely focused on customers,” says Lumsden.

However, Rayner does find time to let his hair down. Seemingly a bit of a thrill seeker, he is partial to taking his speed boat for a spin and is learning to fly a helicopter.

Although Rayner’s two grown-up daughters help test products, he has stopped short of roping them in to work full time at the retailer, and his brothers have taken the same tack with their children. So who will succeed the Rayner men? They would be reluctant to sell up any time soon. Last year Julian said the business would “lose its heart” if the brothers sold to private equity.

Any move from its base in Windermere, where thousands of products are studiously tested would certainly result in Lakeland losing some of its charm. Its flagship shop sits adjacent to its headquarters and gives local tourist attractions including Beatrix Potter’s house a run for their money as customers seek out the latest in quirky homewares.

Rayner was supposedly handed the stores arm by his brothers because it wasn’t the major focus of the business at the time. To the delight of Lakeland’s disciples he has changed all that.