2 minute read
The Week In Retail Issue 21
EDITOR’S COMMENT
A FOND FAREWELL TO ‘THE MAN WITH THREE BRAINS’
I believe it all started with an interview in The Times when an unnamed ex-colleague first uttered an approximation of the phrase ‘the man with three brains’ when describing the soon-to be-retiring Booker CEO Charles Wilson. It may have been a genuine quote or it may have been invented or slightly embellished, but it resonated, mainly because most people come away from a meeting with Charles with the impression that he‘s smarter than the average bear.
His record speaks for itself. M&S, the Arcadia Group and Booker were in perilous states before Charles came along and while he didn’t effect spectacular turnarounds all on his own, he was unquestionably the mastermind that both saw what needed to be done and saw how he could get the teams around him to buy into his vision.
Booker was almost literally worthless when he took over, bloated and collapsing under the weight of a huge debt burden – and he sold it to Tesco for the best part of £4bn a little over a decade later. You can’t argue with that.
Unusually, however, he did it all without any of the alpha male swagger that often accompanies so many successful male business people. Softly spoken, humble, positive and always with time for whoever he is talking to, it’s hard to find anybody with a bad word to say about him, even among his competitors.
I had the pleasure – and it was a pleasure – to meet Charles on many occasions and get a very brief insight into how he navigates the world and deals with the people he encounters, permanently jotting things down in that little notebook of his. He was capable of a bizarre attention to detail, something many people comment on. He was one of those rare people who seems to remember everything you told him in a conversation 18 months ago. Your wife’s name, the holiday you were just about to go on at that point, what you had for lunch that day. He just seems interested in those around him – and that generates loyalty and respect.
Thankfully in remission after being diagnosed with throat cancer a few years ago, Charles will retire in February next year and the whole industry will lose one of its true A-listers. He is undoubtedly a phenomenal businessman, but he’s an even better human being. He will be sorely missed, and not just by those at Booker.
