Paul Hayes

By staying true to Seasalt’s Cornish and coastal roots, CEO Paul Hayes has enabled the lifestyle brand to navigate the challenges presented by a tough retail environment. In the six years Hayes has led Seasalt, he has steadily built it from a small regional womenswear brand with 11 stores across the south-west to a national retailer with 67 stores across the UK and Ireland, and 400 wholesale stockists, including Next and John Lewis.

The latest figures, for the year to 2 February 2019, show turnover rose 29% to £66m, marking its 10th consecutive year of 20%-plus year-on-year sales growth. But Hayes is not content to stop there.

For 2019, he is shooting for £80m turnover and is feeling positive about potential future growth as he targets a UK store portfolio of 100 shops, opening 10 a year over the next two to three years. The US and Germany are now also in his sights to expand Seasalt internationally.