It’s a remarkable story! These days Boots is a household name – but how did it all happen?
Hear how Jesse Boot started off working in his father’s tiny herbalist shop on Goose gate, one of the poorest parts of Nottingham. Despite the fact his father died when John was only ten years old and growing up in relative poverty, Jesse Boot created a major retail and industrial empire.
In 1877 he advertised a huge range of products that ranged from ‘cooling powders’ to ‘solar elixirs’ though for many years his best-selling product was ‘no-name ointment’! Jesse soon established a name for himself and moved into a larger shop nearer the town centre.
Chris reveals Jesse’s remarkable talent for selling virtually anything; on one occasion he sold hundreds of tins of salmon!
Discover too how he met Florence while he was on holiday on Jersey. She made not only an impact on Jesse but also on the development of the company. She introduced cafes and libraries to the shops and encouraged staff welfare reforms.
By the outbreak of the Great War there were 560 Boots branches all over the UK and though in later life he suffered from severe arthritis he then devoted his energies and money into the creation of a new site for the University of Nottingham, at Highfields.
This talk reveals lots of surprises and will make any shopping trip to Boots a historical experience!
