W Galen Weston, the patriarch of one of Canadaâs wealthiest families and a retail titan, has died aged 80.
Weston was the third generation of his family to lead George Weston Limited, an already-prosperous retail empire founded by his grandfather, which he expanded significantly.
The company, now run by his son, Galen Weston, controls Primark and Selfridges in the UK, as well as the Canadian grocery chain Loblaws, the pharmacy chain Shoppers Drug Mart and the real estate company Choice Properties. The empire also includes the luxury store Fortnum & Mason, along with food brands including Twinings teas, Kingsmill Bakery and Dorset Cereals.
W Galen Weston, retail tycoon behind Selfridges, dies aged 80 yahoo.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from yahoo.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Galen Weston, leader of his family’s Anglo-Canadian business empire and owner of Selfridges – obituary
He had a simple set of precepts: owning property rather than leasing, keeping debt low, a strong family work ethic and loyal key executives
14 April 2021 • 2:23pm
Galen Weston: it was said that the British Westons came to regard sociable, polo-playing Galen as their benign ‘playboy uncle’
Credit: Nils Jorgensen/Shutterstock
Galen Weston, who has died aged 80, was the head of the billionaire Anglo-Canadian dynasty whose fortune had its origins in mass-produced sliced bread. Though best known as the steward of the family’s Canadian and Irish interests, he was also the owner of Selfridges, a friend of the British Royal family – and the target, in 1983, of a botched IRA kidnap attempt.
Retail tycoon behind Selfridges and Primark, W Galen Weston, dies at 80 cosmeticsbusiness.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from cosmeticsbusiness.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.