Design house Alice Temperley looks forward despite drop in turnover The British fashion line, a favourite of the Duchess of Cambridge, saw sales and profits fall in the year to September 2011 in a downturn that was "part recession, part engineered," according to the company's chairman, Fabrizio Zappaterra. "These numbers go back to 2010 so you're looking at the darkest point in the recession," he said. That was the point we decided to focus on our core strengths. Turnover for Temperley fell 17pc in the year to September 2011 to £7m, with profits down 28pc in the same period to £3.6m. In a transformative year, the company cancelled its travel accessories and homeware lines, cut staff and streamlined production. It opened a logistics hub in Hong Kong, close to the company's supply base in Asia and India, as well as investing in areas such as online retail. Mr Zappaterra said that following the widescale changes, the company expected to return to profit this year. "We have dramatically improved across the board," he said. Retail like-for-like sales are up 5pc and online sales have doubled. He said he expected total retail sales to increase up to 45pc in 2013, a pace of growth many rival retailers will regard enviously given the hardships facing the sector as a whole. Alice Temperley linked up with John Lewis last month and has become the fastest selling brand in the department store's history. The fashion company will open a store in Qatar in November and has started work on a flagship store in London's Mayfair. "We think that sends an important signal about where we're going," Mr Zappaterra said. Temperley raised several million pounds during the recession and is looking to raise more capital in 2013 to fund expansion in the US. The company's biggest market remains the UK, followed by the US, the Middle East and Europe.