The very names are redolent of that generation’s preoccupation with the celebrity-laden and the achingly cool. Jude and Sadie. But by now Boots was sprawling and unfocused and it spent the following years selling off the businesses it had bought.Under the current chairman John McGrath and chief executive Steve Russell, Boots gave its drugs business a push at the turn of the new century with the acquisition of Clearasil from America’s Procter & Gamble.Realising that Boots’ market was coming under pressure from the large supermarkets, Mr Russell introduced opticians, dentists and chiropodists into its stores. The late 1940s and early 1950s were also a period of growth, boosted by the creation of the National Health Service.Boots’ drugs manufacturing business expanded throughout the 1960s. The painkiller Ibuprofen, introduced in 1969, was used as a springboard in the next decade to sell drugs to the US.The late 1980s and 1990s were a period of considerable upheaval. In 1989, driven by its chief executive at the time, Lord Blyth, Boots won a £900m top-of-the-market hostile bid for the retail conglomerate Ward White, bringing chains such as Halfords and Payless DIY into the fold. By the end of the decade the chain had grown to more than 1,000 stores.

But in 1933 Mr Liggett, facing financial difficulties, sold Boots back to a group of British financiers, who installed Jesse Boot as chairman.The 1930s saw the rapid expansion of Boots, including the launch of the No7 cosmetics range. After his death his son Jesse took over and by the start of the 20th century the family had 250 stores.After the First World War Jesse Boot sold the business to Louis Liggett, head of America’s United Drug Company, for £2.25m. Whether she’s prepared to fill Mr Russell’s Boots at a time of such uncertainly and potential turmoil remains to be seen. The family firm that founded an empire in Nottingham Boots can trace its roots back to 1849 when John Boot opened a small shop in Nottingham selling herbal remedies.

Others say that he is too wedded to Tesco (quite literally, as he is married to the daughter of Lord MacLaurin, the supermarket’s former chairman).That leaves Ms Weller. The 42-year-old, who has also held senior positions at Abbey National and Mars Confectionery, is well regarded in retailing circles and is very ambitious. But with the battle set to rumble on for around six months because of competition issues, “he would probably make more money by staying put”, says one retail expert.Doubts have also been expressed about Mr Mason. Of these candidates, only one may be suitable.Mr Rose has told friends that he has “one more job left in him” after agreeing the sale of Arcadia last year. Four names have emerged: Stuart Rose, the former head of Arcadia; Carlos Criado-Perez, chief executive of Safeway; Tim Mason, marketing director of Tesco; and Sara Weller, assistant managing director of J Sainsbury. “As a result Boots has a propensity to pour money down the drain on failed ideas.”Verdict’s Mr Hyman adds: “Companies that have a large and dominant market share often tend to become inward looking and complacent. On top of closing down Wellbeing (with the exception of the dentistry arm), McKinsey is also thought to have recommended the sale of Boots Healthcare International.In fact, the presentation was to a certain degree irrelevant, because whoever replaces Mr Russell will probably have different ideas about how to reshape Boots.

It is difficult to get economies of scale in services.”This view is shared by McKinsey. The consultancy last month presented Boots’ board with a radical plan to overhaul the business. At its November interim results, the company revealed a £16m loss for Wellbeing. A former Boots executive, who asked to remain anonymous, says: “Wellbeing has a textbook weakness.