The Visible Hand
TIM COHEN: Clicks bait: is it too late to catch the drug store tide?
Years ago, Business Day used to make a “company of the year” award, and staff were often asked for their opinions of which companies should be considered. I had just interviewed the then CEO of Clicks, Trevor Honneysett, and I was impressed with the singularity of the vision of the group, so I suggested the company should be considered. My colleagues thought I was joking. Clicks was at the time a tiny retailer in a niche market with modest prospects. Well, it’s nice to have been right for once. Clicks is now a top 40 stock and apart from a few minor missteps the company really has not put a foot wrong over the past decade. Even in those days, Clicks was using English store Boots as a model, so it wasn’t too much of a surprise when it hired a senior Boots executive, David Kneale, to take over in 2004. Kneale is standing down at the end of the year and seems slightly shocked now that his initial intention to spend a few years in SA has lasted almost a decade and a half. One presumes o...
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