Boots: a legacy brand in a hurry

As pharmacy and beauty chain Boots undergoes a revamp in 2019, its CEO explains why brands need to both embrace their heritage and look beyond it.

The new CEO of Boots is a man in a hurry. When he spoke at Retail Week Live (London, March 2019) he’d only been in post for six months, but already he’s instigating the biggest changes the venerable UK pharmacy and beauty chain has seen in a generation. Sebastian James is shaking things up in a business he feels has been held back by its heritage.

“We have some incredible assets at Boots,” he said, “but we will not be immune to deep changes in customer behaviour unless we change as well – a lot.” The need for such change...

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