My working life..

Apr 11 2008

Mark McGowan, 39, founder of Bite

Does it help to be nuts about extreme sport if you are a sportswear retailer?

Mark McGowan thinks so.

His company, Bite, the active sports fashion retailer, is now in its third year.

There are four Bite stores in Scotland, employing around 50 staff.

The flagship store is in Braehead Shopping Centre, on the outskirts of Glasgow, with other Bite stores located in Aberdeen's Academy Retail Centre, the Gyle Centre in Edinburgh and on Gordon Street, Glasgow. Next he plans to expand south of the border.

Before he went into retail, McGowan spent most of his teens and 20s climbing mountains - and missing school to do so. At one point he was ranked fifth in the UK.

McGowan worked in sportswear retail and his grasp of the business, coupled with his climbing success and knowledge, helped him move up the ranks to the position of buying director with trendy surfwear brand Quicksilver.

He was always looking for the next challenge. He decided the one year management course he was taking at Glasgow Caledonian University was not enough so he carried on and obtained an MBA.

McGowan created the Bite brand as his MBA project and has faced a steep learning curve the past few years.

Atypical week is, according to McGowan, "mental".

He has an enthusiastic young team working with him and has promoted several youngsters to senior management positions.

"The Bite brand is targeted primarily at the 16 - 30 age group and I believe that having young staff who can identify with the target audience works well," says McGowan.

"However, the brand is growing and trying to be in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Braehead is a bit stressful so if anyone fancies the position of Area Manager - give me a call. It may also help save my marriage!"