10 | Tees Business
Pictures by Martin Walker
TEES
UP!
NAME: MICHAEL BAXTER
AGE: 56
BORN: MIDDLESBROUGH
LIVES: MIDDLESBROUGH
COMPANY & JOB TITLE:
TAILORING MANAGER, PSYCHE
The biggest downside of my working
life is… I can’t think of any. I love the job
and I’m still passionate about it. I’m all
about products and making money for the
company.
When I was at school, I wanted to be…
a sailor! I did the test to join the Navy, but I
landed a job in retail in between so I chose
that as a career path instead. I’ve been doing
men’s tailoring for nearly 40 years now, 12 of
those years with Psyche. If I could change one thing to help my
business it would be… Steve is constantly
changing things to make it better. He’s
continually re-investing in the business to
keep it ahead of the game. We’re doing four
shop fits in store this year alone.
The best business decision I ever made
was… joining Psyche, without a doubt. I get
to go all over Europe to assist in the buying
for the shop floor, I pick all the tailoring and
(owner) Steve Cochrane has given me a free
rein to do that, so I’m very lucky. Four words to describe me are… manic,
approachable, fair and honest.
The worst business decision I ever made
was… the only down side to this business is
not enough holidays. I love my holidays, I go
away five or six times a year, but I’d like to do
more than that!
The best part of my job is… being given a
free rein. As long as I show growth, Steve is
happy for me to get on with it. I also get to
meet a lot of high-profile people from around
Teesside, which can be fun.
My business mantra is… anything is
possible. I’ve never actually run my own
business, but I’m experienced at running my
department and we’re always thinking ahead
and trying to be different. I think in business
you need to be brave and go for it.
My greatest achievement is… helping to
grow the business. When I joined Psyche,
the men’s tailoring department was turning
over £460,000 a year, and last year we did
£1.6m, just in this department. And I’m
constantly striving to improve on that every
year.