CHARLES WILSON

PROFILE: CHARLES WILSON, BOOKER

FINAL LAP OF HONOUR FOR THE TURNAROUND KING

BOOKER CEO CHARLES WILSON IS TO RETIRE EARLY NEXT YEAR, CALLING TIME ON A TRULY REMARKABLE CAREER. HIS 15 YEAR SPELL AT THE WHOLESALER SAW IT TRANSFORMED FROM A BUSINESS OF THE VERGE OF COLLAPSE INTO A BEHEMOTH THAT TESCO VALUED AT £4BN.

BY ANTONY BEGLEY

Charles Wilson is, arguably, the most successful businessman ever to operate in the UK convenience and wholesaling channel. He’s one of the most successful businessmen in the UK, full stop – but among his peers in this particular industry he has built a reputation that is very probably unique. Admired, respected and liked in equal measure, his quiet, considered manner belies a man with the sharpest brain. Or, as an article in The Times put it: “The main with three brains”. The quote was attributed to an unnamed former colleague, but it got the point across.

What Wilson achieved at Booker is often lost in the mists of time, but when he first joined the business some 15 years ago, it was literally on the verge of going to the wall. It was saddled with crippling debt – hundreds of millions – so much so that it was it was unable to service the debt and had crashed ignominiously through the borrowing levels set by its bank. At one point in the mid-90s, it lost 90% of its stock market value.

It had been a tumultuous time for the once great company. In 2000, it was sold to Iceland Supermarkets, via Big Food Group, which was then in turn sold itself four years later to Icelandic group Baugur which split Booker and Iceland back into different companies. Baugur ultimately became one of the more high profile disasters of that catastrophic period, with the founder of the company found guilty of serious accounting irregularities.

By 2007, Booker had reversed into the AIMlisted grocery wholesaler Blueheath to form Booker Group plc and Baugur sold all its assets in Booker Cash & Carry in June 2008, just weeks after the accounting scandal. Baugur collapsed the following year in the middle of the Icelandic financial crisis.

A remarkable fall for a company that was once so proud and so diverse. So why would Wilson be attracted to a business in that sort of shape? Surely there were more attractive options on the table, given his already stellar career? The answer lies deep within that much discussed brain, but Wilson clearly saw the potential in a business that had lost its way but which he believed could be refocused. And it wasn’t the first time he had transformed ailing businesses. He is widely credited with saving the likes of Marks & Spencer and the Arcadia Group. He was no stranger to a daunting challenge.

Perhaps Wilson’s greatest gift is the ability to analyse what looks like an exceptionally complex business but see it in very simple terms. Solutions come quickly to Wilson, often jotted down in the infamous little notepad he always carries with him.

This vision of his is neatly encapsulated in the mantra that quickly became de rigeur for anyone that worked at Booker, from Wilson himself down to staff in cash and carry branches: “choice, price and service” was the answer to any question. It was repeated so often in so many interviews with anyone from Booker that it became something of a running joke for anyone outside the business. But that seemingly inconsequential little phrase gave every member of the vast Booker team something to focus in on, to fall back on, to believe in. Choice, price and service were the only things that mattered. Get them right and the rest would follow, he reasoned – and he was right.

And it’s hard to overestimate how powerful this mini-strategy was. Over the eons Booker had become a vast but sprawling business. Between 1956 and 1978 it bought, on average, a company a year. Its assets over the years included sugar estates in Guyana, a drug company in Zambia, a car parts supplier in Canada and a disused lead mine in Wales. At one point it was the world’s largest producer of Atlantic salmon and, perhaps most bizarrely, it once bought the rights to the works of James Bond creator Ian Fleming (which ultimately led to the establishment of the Booker Prize) as well as a majority share of the rights to Agatha Christie’s works.

You get the picture. The company had lost its way and successive CEOs, including Stuart Rose, had a hard job even working out what the company actually owned, never mind working out how to deal with it and how to refocus the business back on what it was good at: food and drink.

Wilson was the first, however, to bring a laser focus to the business and that focus took effect in a remarkably short period of time. The ailing business was transformed in just a few years and was ultimately sold to Tesco for the best part of £4bn. Not bad for a company that was virtually bust only a decade or so previously.

As well as refocusing the business, Wilson also proved to have a very keen eye for an acquisition – often buying other under-performing or troubled businesses that he saw potential in. Makro in 2012, for instance, and Budgens and Londis in 2017. Many questioned the wisdom of those acquisitions at the time, pondering the logic behind them, but time has once again come out in favour of a man with a preternatural knack of backing a winner.

The secret of Wilson’s success will remain unknown and probably unknowable, but much of it comes down to his ability to rapidly process information and to quickly see what matters and what doesn’t, often brutally so.

It’s reported that in his first days with Booker in 2005 his first moves were to reduce stockholding levels by 30%, manage capital expenditure down to 30% and get a much firmer grasp of creditor management. Simple stuff, but effective. Wilson himself has often been heard to refer to his ‘single sheet of paper’, the implication being that the solution to any problem must fit on a single side of A4. If it doesn’t, you haven’t reached the heart of the problem yet.

RETAILER VIEW...Linda Williams of Broadway Conveneince Store in Edinburgh commented:

Charles will undoubtedly be a huge miss, and not just because of what he has done for Booker in terms of turning round the company and restoring it to financial health.

He is an extraordinary man. When you speak to him, you immediately know that you are speaking to someone who is five steps ahead of you in terms of intellect and vision – and yet he inspires great trust, because he is also a man of integrity and honesty.

We have been very lucky to have had quite a lot of personal contact with Charles and he has always taken a very hands-on approach to advising us on our business, and been hugely generous with his time, for which we are immensely grateful. For his part, he always says that time spent talking to retailers about their own business and Booker is never time wasted. His favourite phrase is ‘gold dust’ with reference to any information he can glean from us!

I have often witnessed Charles paying for trolley loads of goods in branch, particularly for small businesses or charities, bringing out his own wallet, and indeed on more than one occasion he has paid for a customer’s shopping in our store.

If anyone deserves a bit of a quiet life, it is Charles, but somehow I doubt whether that is what he really has in mind; he will have other projects up his sleeve, for sure. He will be a very hard act to follow…”

He also apparently believes in a ‘six Cs’ model when approaching the turnaround of a foundering business: make an immediate impact on Cashflow, then deal with Costs in a few weeks and Customers within a few months. Concept takes a little longer and Culture is the one that will take longest to repair. However it’s a very simple model that anyone can understand and anyone can implement – and it fits on one side of A4.

One thing that even the all-conquering Wilson can’t simplify into success, however, is serious illness and it was a desperately sad day for many when he was diagnosed with throat cancer a couple of years ago. At the time he was widely expected to become boss of the merged Tesco-Booker group. Being Wilson however, he set about fighting the disease with the same methodical, determined optimism that he brought to every battle in his life – and thankfully he remains in remission to this day.

The decision, then, to retire in February next year is an entirely understandable one and there is absolutely no doubt that he leaves an incredible legacy. Dave Lewis, Tesco Group Chief Executive, was moved to comment: “Charles’ reputation in the UK food business is unparalleled and for very good reason. The transformation of Booker over the last 15 years is one of the most remarkable business case studies in recent history. Since the merger with Tesco he has been a superb member of the Executive team and a brilliant colleague. Whilst we are very sad to see him retire, we completely understand and wish Charles and his family all the very best for the future. I know that he will stay a massive supporter of the Tesco/ Booker business and he will always remain a friend to many colleagues.”

For his part, and with typical understated modesty, Wilson himself says: “I joined the Booker team 15 years ago. At that time Booker was challenged. Together we turned around the company, improved customer satisfaction and grew to be the leading wholesaler. In 2018 we merged with Tesco. The merger is working well. Customer satisfaction has improved, our sales are up £1.5bn and we are proud to be part of Tesco. It has been a privilege serving our retail and catering customers and a pleasure working with a great team at Tesco/Booker.

“A couple of years ago I was diagnosed with throat cancer. I remain in remission but it is time to take things a little easier. I will retire next year to be replaced by Andrew Yaxley. Andrew will be a great leader of Booker within the Tesco Group. Andrew and I will ensure a smooth handover to maintain business as usual. It has been a huge privilege to be part of Booker and Tesco, and I look forward to seeing the group flourish in the years ahead.“

Characteristically, Wilson also added a little PS to that comment: “For those of you who ask such things, I will not be selling any Tesco shares in the next few years and will remain a committed supporter of the company.“