Alex Baldock, the man credited with hauling Currys back from the brink of the retail graveyard, is about to take on an even more delicate mission: restoring the lustre to Boots, the 177-year-old chemist that remains a British institution. His fans in the City – and there are plenty – believe he has the right mix of discipline, strategy and long-term vision to pull it off. But the challenges awaiting him at the high‑street pharmacy chain are of a different order entirely.
A Retailer with a Different Pedigree
Baldock, 55, does not conform to the stereotype of a retail boss. He is neither a flamboyant maverick in the mould of Sir Philip Green nor a battle-hardened trader who started on the shop floor. He readily acknowledges his privileged upbringing. Born into a comfortable family – his father Brian grew up working-class, rose through sales to lead Guinness Brewing and sat on the board of Marks & Spencer – Baldock spent his early years in Paris before attending boarding school in Northamptonshire. He went on to earn a double first-class degree in Modern History from Worcester College, Oxford, followed by an MBA from Harvard Business School and executive education at INSEAD.
His career began in management consulting at Kalchas, part of Ernst & Young, and later at Bain & Company, where he focused on operational efficiency and strategy. He then moved into financial services, holding roles at Barclays Bank and as managing director of Lombard, the asset finance arm of Royal Bank of Scotland. It was at Shop Direct (now The Very Group) that he first made his mark as a chief executive, leading a digital transformation that turned a traditional catalogue retailer into a major e‑commerce player. But his reputation was forged at Currys.
When Baldock took the helm of Dixons Carphone in April 2018, the technology retailer was widely written off. Over eight years he integrated digital capabilities with physical stores, built an omnichannel model, expanded repair and refurbishment operations, and saw off a takeover bid from Chinese e‑commerce giant JD.com in 2024. He also proved willing to speak his mind. He wrote in The Times this year that growth was “the only way to fund more schools, hospitals and anti‑drone defences”, attacked government policies on employment costs and business rates, and argued that three million working‑age people on sickness benefits was “an economic emergency”. Colleagues describe him as more fun than his serious reputation suggests, with a strong ability to connect with people – and very high expectations.
The Challenges at Boots
Baldock will officially take over as chief executive of Boots in the autumn, succeeding Anthony Hemmerdinger. The appointment comes after Sycamore Partners, the private‑equity firm, acquired Walgreens Boots Alliance for around $10 billion (£7.4 billion) and carved out Boots UK and Ireland, Boots Opticians, No7 Beauty Company and its pharmacies in Thailand, Mexico and Germany as a standalone UK‑headquartered entity. Baldock will lead operations in the UK, Ireland and Thailand, but not Mexico and Germany; City analysts expect those divisions to be sold before any public listing.
Boots has considerable strengths. It employs roughly 52,000 staff across about 1,800 stores, and 80 per cent of the UK population lives within ten minutes of one. Its Advantage Card has 17 million members, and 78.9 per cent of British consumers are enrolled – far ahead of Superdrug’s 38 per cent. The app has 8 million regular users. Beauty and the “wellness” trend have drawn in new shoppers, and Boots has refreshed its digital presence, added brands such as Fenty Beauty and The Ordinary, and created flagship beauty destinations. Its role as a near‑offshoot of the NHS – dispensing prescriptions, offering health advice and now introducing specialist pharmacist practitioner roles – gives it a unique social function that even Amazon cannot replicate.
Yet the problems are significant. Superdrug has been gaining market share, with revenue up 7 per cent to £1.63 billion in 2024, by focusing on value and social‑media trends. Amazon and other online rivals continue to erode footfall. More visibly, a large proportion of the 1,800 stores needs modernisation; the gap between shiny London flagships and the rest of the estate is glaring. Baldock must also contend with the “mercurial” presence of Stefano Pessina, the Italian billionaire who remains a substantial shareholder and executive chairman of Walgreens Boots Alliance. Pessina, described by those who know him as a charismatic and ruthless negotiator, has been instrumental in the mergers that created Alliance Boots and later the Walgreens empire. How he will fit with Baldock – and whether he will take a back seat – is not yet clear. One City admirer of Baldock puts it bluntly: “Boots at its best is very good, but it isn’t always at its best. And there is the very long shadow of Pessina in the background.”
The Flotation Question
Market speculation points to a stock‑market flotation that could value Boots at between £5 billion and £7 billion. Reports suggest a potential initial public offering in London as early as 2027. Sycamore Partners has engaged advisers to explore growth opportunities, especially in beauty and wellness, as part of early‑stage discussions for a listing – though a sale remains an alternative. A previous attempt to sell Boots in 2022 was shelved because of market volatility; at the time the business was valued between £6 billion and £8 billion.
The final valuation will depend on consumer spending trends, the performance of Boots’ pharmacy and healthcare services, macroeconomic conditions and investor appetite for retail IPOs. But the most pressing strategic decision, as Baldock prepares to take over, is whether to invest in refreshing the store estate before the float – using existing investors’ money – or to leave that work for new investors after the listing. There is no question that a chunk of the 1,800 stores needs a refresh. The question is whether a made‑over chemist can draw customers in the same way a refurbished pub can, especially on high streets that may be struggling anyway.
Boots has already begun modernising its digital operations: the app now accounts for 40 per cent of digital sales, the company is re‑platforming boots.com and expanding a marketplace model to add brands rapidly. It is harnessing artificial intelligence and data from its Advantage Card members to understand shopper behaviour. On the sustainability front, it has committed to net‑zero emissions by 2040, works with suppliers through Manufacture 2030 to cut carbon, runs a “Recycle at Boots” scheme across 800 stores and aims to reduce food waste by 50 per cent by 2030. Less than 1 per cent of its waste goes to landfill.
For a comparison, Currys is currently valued at around £1.4 billion – a fraction of Boots’ potential price tag. The scale of the task Baldock faces, and the sums involved, are in a different league. As one City observer notes: “He has an unfair reputation for being terribly serious. He is more fun than people think. He just has high expectations.” Those expectations will now be trained on him.
