AFTER a globe-trotting career selling products ranging from shoes to bras it took the lure of the Isle of Arran to persuade Jacqui Gale to return full time to her Scottish homeland.

A former chief executive of Falk & Ross, Ms Gale was working a punishing schedule spending weekdays in Germany running the textile giant’s operations and flying home for weekends with her family in Scotland.

“I said this is killing me, I don’t want to do this any more,” grimaces Ms Gale, who faced fresh complications after she was then head-hunted to run the Middle East operations of Crabtree and Evelyn, the American home and body products chain.

“I was still travelling up and down all the time and I really wanted to see more of my kids growing up.”

Ms Gale reckons the hardest job she ever did was staying at home in London to look after her then infant daughter after leading the launch of Pretty Polly bras for Sara Lee in the late 1990s.

But she was delighted to find that an Edinburgh financier presented her with an opportunity to turn her dream of seeing more of her daughter and son through their teenage years came up last winter.

The financier was Duncan Macrae of the Business Growth Fund, which invested around £3 million in Arran Aromatics in 2013.

The bank-supported fund was looking to appoint a chief executive who could help a business that has become a household name in Scotland to become a big player on the global stage.

The fund had real faith in the scents to candles business started by Janet and Iain Russell in 1989 on Arran. The Russells developed a range of toiletries in their cottage using pure honey and herbs from the island and quickly found they had broad appeal. Janet is still an ambassador for the business.

But Ms Gale could have been forgiven for having her doubts about taking on the job. Arran Aromatics hit serious problems in 2009 when HMRC lodged a petition to wind up the company in respect of £180,000 underpaid payroll taxes.

Turnaround expert Iain Pittman took charge in that year and spent months stabilising the business and enabling it to clear its debts to the taxman, helped by focusing on the most profitable lines. He remains on the board as chairman.

The company has made losses in recent years.

However, by the end of February Ms Gale had decided to take on the job after becoming intrigued by the possibility of taking charge of a business that seemed to offer just what she was looking for.

“It was a combination of things: coming home, being able to use all the talents and the skills I’ve learned over a long time and applying them to a heritage brand, which you don’t often get these days, with the beauty of manufacturing in Scotland.”

Brands mean a lot to the 52-year-old, whose experience includes leading international sales drives for ultra chic Lulu Guinness shoes.

“I loved it, working with Lulu. She is such an inspirational designer but also quite commercial. She wanted every shoe to be different.”

While Arran Aromatics may be a fairly small business compared with well known names like Crabtree & Evelyn, Ms Gale believes the firm enjoys unusual advantages.

“The potential for Arran to be an incredible brand is here… there’s been nothing new in our arena for some time. We will be classed as the new even though we’ve got the heritage.”

Ms Gale reckons Arran Aromatics’s heritage is especially rich. She says the secret of its products’ appeal lies in the local water, and describes with evident delight how the company harnesses the bounty of the rainwater which trickles down the landmark Goat Fell. The water is high in mineral content but also very soft.

The picturesque story is loved around the world says Ms Gale, who has mapped out a suitably ambitious growth strategy since taking charge.

She is planning to reposition the offering next year with new packaging.

Shoppers can get a feel for the new approach at the plush new store Arran Aromatics has opened on George Street in Edinburgh city centre.

More new outlets will follow in the UK, where Arran has ten stores stretching from Dundee to Devon and nine concessions. The company also supplies hotels including Cameron House on Loch Lomond.

“I would like a store in London. I know where would be right.”

Ms Gale highlights the appeal of areas such as Covent Garden, which may be pricey but where having stores can help burnish brands’ global credentials.

There will be a big push for sales in the key Christmas period. Arran has developed a selection of Christmas gift boxes using the Nutcracker theme available through its stores and online. The business has also devised an Arran Aromatics Christmas Advent Calendar featuring a selection of miniature products behind each window that is being sold via John Lewis online.

The globetrotting Ms Gale also has big plans for overseas.

“I would like a store in the US, New York, would like one in Milan.”

There is scope to build on existing export business in areas such as the Middle East. Asian markets are attractive.

Different approaches will be taken for different regions. “Single nose products work in Asia but not here.”

Arran Aromatics may open its own stores in the US, where the market is similar to the UK. However, it could make sense to let local players run outlets in other places.

The company is in talks with distributors around the world. It plans to open pop up stores in Hong Kong at Christmas.

A new sales base has been opened in Lanarkshire to support the growth push.

The production of scents and the like will stay on Arran, where the firm employs up to 50 people at peak times.

“If anything it’s a real plus,” says Ms Gale who notes that people around the world like the idea that the company’s goods are made on the island.

However, as Arran grows it may follow the whisky industry’s example and move bottling to the mainland, along with candle making.

There can be downsides to running the business from an island.

“It does become challenging being on an island if the boat doesn’t run.”

Ms Gale has been really pleased with the response that she has had among employees on Arran for her plans to shake up the business, even though some might see changes as potentially unwelcome.

Comparing the reform process to a bus ride she says she feared some people may want to get off.

However, following a recent staff barbeque she came away feeling “people really get it”.

This from a woman who has worked in tough environments. The chemistry graduate’s first job was in formaldehyde production in Edinburgh. She went on to work in the cosmetics industry in the hope of fulfilling her childhood dream of starting a business in that industry.

“I always had a goal of having my own cosmetics company. I read lots about lots of companies that made lots of money but I did not realise how much it costs to make cosmetics.”

After cutting her teeth in sales with the upmarket Estee Lauder Ms Gale moved on to Revlon, which is more mass market in its approach.

Ms Gale’s excitement at being back in Scotland is obvious. With frequent business trips to London and overseas centres in her diary she does not expect to find herself missing old haunts.

“There are fantastic things going on in Scotland, including the food and drink industry. There are things we should be very proud of.”

Ms Gale will be in no hurry to move on.

“My goal is to take this to a true global brand. I would like to do it fast but however long it takes is however long I will be here.”