Profile: Sally Bailey, chief executive, White Stuff

White Stuff chief executive Sally Bailey had her annus horribilis last year. “It was bloody awful,” she admits.

The quirky lifestyle retailer had appeared to be immune to the recession – Bailey points out that the year Lehman Brothers collapsed, White Stuff experienced strong growth and like-for-likes soared 10%.

And that growth had continued throughout the downturn, until last year, when pre-tax profits plunged 81% to £2.8m for the period to April 28 and sales dropped 11.4% to £89.3m.

However, Bailey is keen to forget about the past year and is looking towards future growth. “It’s not about the figures this year, it’s about getting us ready to grow,” she says.

Bailey is a veteran of the fashion world who has a CV peppered with the high street’s biggest retailers including Debenhams, River Island and Miss Selfridge. But it is at Topshop where she really made her name.

She was part of a dream team at the retailer that included Whistles chief executive Jane Shepherdson and Debenhams boss Michael Sharp before moving on to Arcadia sister retailer Miss Selfridge as brand director.

Keen traveller Bailey left Arcadia to go globetrotting with her husband. When she came back to Blighty she took the role at White Stuff which, at the time, had only 21 stores.

Bailey says she has helped the retailer – which now has 83 shops – mature from the baby she took on to a teenager. However, her plan is not over yet and adulthood beckons.

When asked what her aim is for White Stuff, Bailey answers without hesitation: “To be a global, multichannel retailer that is making the world a little happier.” She is already making headway. The retailer has just completed a painful IT upgrade, which Bailey said was partly to blame for the profits crash but will allow White Stuff to up its multichannel credentials. The retailer is set to launch click-and-collect next month.

Bailey is also developing the overseas business, and expects to double turnover from the arm this year.

White Stuff is focusing on wholesale for the time being in order to test the water before launching more international stores.

However, for Bailey, it is clearly not all about watching the sales roll in; she openly admits she is “not a corporate person” and believes that White Stuff is also here to entertain.

Bailey is someone who puts the customer at the heart of her offer, and she regularly meets with what she calls her “super shoppers” to find out what they think of the brand.

“We always look at how we can make our customers happier, especially given the current environment,” she says. “Be it lovely product, customer entertainment in-store or fun campaigns.”

Bailey has clearly injected a sense of fun into White Stuff, from its in-store book swaps to its now annual charity event, National Wear A Tea Cosy On Your Head Day.

The retailer also donates at least 1% of its annual profits to charity and runs many donation drives throughout the year.

Outside White Stuff, Bailey enjoys the great outdoors and is a big animal lover and the proud owner of two spaniels. In fact, White Stuff’s Oval head office often resembles a Pets at Home store as the retailer allows its employees to bring in their furry friends.

Bailey will be aiming to keep White Stuff’s tail wagging despite the tough market conditions.