If there is one man not too concerned about Britain's growing obesity crisis, it is Alan White.

N Brown, the home-shopping group, specialises in clothing of all kinds and a glance at the group's websites or a flick through its 20 mail-order catalogues reveal size 38 dresses, as well as 56J bras and Reebok tops for men with a 73in chest.

It is fair to say that Mr White has made a career out of selling things that shoppers simply cannot find elsewhere on the high street.

This month N Brown will go a step further, launching a year-round gift shop focusing on nostalgic items such as Brut aftershave or John Wayne figurines. The average age of an N Brown customer is 58.

“Never for one minute when I trained as an accountant did I think I could be doing this,” Mr White said, “but it's a company that gets in your blood.”

Mr White, 53, graduated in law at Warwick University in 1976 and started out with the accountant Arthur Andersen. In the mid-1980s, after a spell with Sharp Electronics, he joined N Brown as finance director.

The father of two stayed until 1999, when he jumped ship to Littlewoods. The move proved ill-fated and he returned to N Brown in 2002, this time as chief executive. “It wasn't a master plan, but going away and then coming back was much better for me and the business,” he said.

After a couple of tough years, N Brown has picked up pace, designing more fashionable ranges and focusing far more on the internet, an approach that has in turn widened the customer base by bringing in shoppers in their forties.

A trading statement yesterday was further proof of how the approach has paid off. Sales in the 17 weeks to June 28 were up 12.3per cent on a year ago, with the internet accounting for nearly a third of all orders.

The next step is Germany, with N Brown keen to launch its brands, which include Simply Yours, Marisota, Jacamo and Nightingales, into mainland Europe.

Shares in the group have fallen in line with the rest of the retail sector - from as high as 300p to 184p - over the past year, but Mr White is adamant that N Brown will prove to be one of the most resilient in the present downturn. “It comes down to our customers. They are more settled and a less vulnerable group.”

Mr White also serves on the board of Topps Tiles as a non-executive director, a role he previously held at John David Group, the sports retailer.

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