Alex Gourlay

Gourlay is the unsung hero of health and beauty giant Boots. While Alliance Boots executive chairman Stefano Pessina (11) is the company’s face, Gourlay can be credited with grasping the opportunities private ownership has given the chain, and breaking new ground.

Gourlay, a Boots ‘lifer’ who started as a Saturday boy, has led the rebranding of more than 1,000 Alliance pharmacies into the Your Local Boots Pharmacy fascia, while at the same time improving customer service in its stores by re-energising and motivating staff. This was also done at the same time as overhauling the entire Boots supply chain operation, resulting ina state-of-the-art warehouse at its Nottingham campus.

Gourlay has also been integral in Alliance Boots’ plans to grow the brand through partnerships, sealing deals with both Waitrose and Mothercare. The deals will see Waitrose and Boots cross-selling products, and Mothercare creating a range of children’s clothes for launch in September.

The past year has also seen successes with new product launches, with Protect and Perfect continuing to fly off the shelves, and the No. 7 range remaining as popular as ever.

Gourlay is also working on innovative ways to grow the Boots brand, aside from new stores and products. He is currently in talks with other retailers to open its click- and-collect operation, whereby shoppers can collect other retailers’ products from Boots stores. It may also open its lucrative Advantage Card out to other retailers. Both ideas are groundbreaking for retail.