WBA Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc

By James R. Hagerty 

Charles Walgreen III, grandson of the founder of the Walgreens drugstore chain, devised a new plan for the company after taking over as chief executive in 1971: Back to basics.

A man of few words, he told his management team to focus on drugstores and get rid of peripheral businesses, including restaurants, discount department stores, aspirin-making plants and a travel agency. He also simplified the stores' product line, getting rid of parakeets, pillows and hammocks.

"You name it, we tried to sell it," he later recalled.

The streamlined Walgreens, now part of Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc., became a Wall Street favorite in the 1980s and 1990s for its reliable profit and sales growth.

Mr. Walgreen, who stepped down as CEO in 1998, died Sept. 26 at age 80. The family didn't disclose the cause of death.

L. Daniel Jorndt, who succeeded Mr. Walgreen as CEO and became the first person outside the founding family to run the company, said his predecessor was so shy and reserved that many people underestimated him. "He was content to be in the background," Mr. Jorndt said.

Mr. Walgreen made the big strategic decisions and delegated the details. "He'd let you make a lot of mistakes if you were trying to do things right," Mr. Jorndt said. He added that Mr. Walgreen had a phenomenal memory for the names of store managers and store addresses across the country.

John Palizza, who was head of investor relations under Mr. Walgreen, recalled that the boss mostly stayed in his corner office. "You almost never saw him anywhere else in the building," Mr. Palizza said, yet "he knew everything that was going on. I don't know how he knew, but he knew."

During Mr. Walgreen's reign, the company invested heavily in computers, began offering drive-through prescription pickups and moved stores to free-standing locations from strip malls.

Mr. Walgreen didn't like gabbing with shareholders and left that to other executives. But he did feel compelled to preside over the annual meeting and patiently answer questions from small shareholders. He also wanted them to leave the meeting feeling content. The company was known for pinching costs, so Mr. Palizza expected approval when he told the boss he had decided to eliminate the cookies traditionally served to shareholders. "Oh, no," Mr. Palizza recalled the boss responding. "We've got to have cookies."

Mr. Walgreen's grandfather, Charles Rudolph Walgreen, started the company with a single Chicago location in 1901 and gradually added more stores. Along with prescription drugs, the merchandise included malted milks from the soda fountain, cod liver oil and an insecticide called Bug Pizen, according to a history by John U. Bacon. The founder died in 1939, leaving the business in the hands of his son, Charles R. Walgreen Jr.

Charles Rudolph Walgreen III was born on Nov. 11, 1935. His nickname became Cork after his grandfather called him "my little corker." As a teenager, he worked part time in Walgreen stores, sweeping floors and stocking shelves. After receiving a pharmacy degree from the University of Michigan in 1958, he joined the company full-time.

Mr. Walgreen had some hard times. In 1966, when he was 30, a 22-foot cabin cruiser he was piloting hit rocks near Chicago's Lake Michigan waterfront and capsized. He and two companions were rescued, but a young woman who had been in the boat drowned. His first two marriages ended in divorce. His son Tad died of a drug overdose.

When he became CEO in 1971, he later recalled, his father told him: "Here's your desk. Here are the keys. I'm going fishing."

The younger Mr. Walgreen retired as CEO in 1998 at age 62. Under his leadership, the number of stores grew to more than 2,400 from 561 and annual sales leapt to $13 billion from $817 million. In retirement, he had more time for deep-sea fishing off the east coast of Florida.

He is survived by his wife of nearly 40 years, Kathleen, a sister, a brother, eight children, 19 grandchildren and one great grandchild.

Write to James R. Hagerty at bob.hagerty@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 30, 2016 13:01 ET (17:01 GMT)

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