Obituaries: William (Bill) Andres, 73, Dayton executive

William (Bill) Andres, who in the seven years that he was chief executive officer of Dayton Hudson Corp. helped the retailer triple its size, has died.

From 1976 to 1983, when he was chief executive officer, the company grew from 400 stores to more than 1,000 and from $1.9 billion in annual revenues to more than $5.6 billion. He was chairman of the board of directors until his retirement in 1985. (The company recently changed its name to Target Corp., and owns 1,245 stores in 44 states.)

"What better time to go than when things are going right?" he told the Star Tribune i

n 1985.

He had been suffering from lymphoma in the past five years, but he still was active in the community, said his son, Richard, of Minnetonka. He retired from his last board in May. Andres, who had been living in Fort Myers, Fla., died there Wednesday. He was 73.

During his tenure, the company sold nine large suburban shopping centers around the Twin Cities and Detroit for about $300 million, the Star Tribune reported in 1985. It then used the money to buy Mervyn's, a California-based department store. The company also diversified under his leadership, expanding such subsidiaries as Target and B. Dalton Bookseller, which was sold to Barnes & Noble in 1987.

"I think he gave the company unique leadership," Morgan Stanley retail analyst Walter Loeb told the Star Tribune in 1984. "He brought the kind of thinking that was forward-looking, and he changed the direction of the company."

Richard Schall, a friend who was vice chairman when Andres was chairman of the executive committee, said Andres was respected by his peers and employees.

"They really thought he was a marvelous leader," Schall said. "He was somebody who was able to disagree with you, and yet you would come away feeling like you had a fair audience."

He said Andres was a thoughtful person who did not make rash decisions.

Andres made Dayton Hudson a "darling of Wall Street," Schall said.

He was born in Fayette, Iowa. He graduated from high school at 16 and then went to Upper Iowa University, where he received his bachelor's degree. He received his master's degree in business from the University of Pittsburgh and his doctorate in business from Upper Iowa. He moved to Minnesota in 1958 to work as a manager trainer at what was then the Dayton Co.

Involved in many things

He was a board member of Jostens, the St. Paul Companies, Munsingwear, International Multifoods, Exxon, Scott Paper, Hannaford, First Bank Systems and Northwestern Bell Telephone. In 1984, Andres was president of the United Way of Minneapolis Area. He had been in the organization since 1975.

"When he spoke up, people listened, and they learned that what he had to say was important," Schall said.

His son said he never was overwhelmed by his participation in organizations and businesses. "He took them as a challenge," his son said. "He was constantly studying the stock market and the business world."

In addition to his son, he is survived by his wife, Betty; two other sons, Robert of San Diego and Charles of Brainerd, Minn., and five grandchildren.