Boots plans to close around 300 of its UK stores during the next 12 months in a move to streamline its business. The stores that will close are, it says, in close proximity to other branches and this will enable the business to offer affected employees alternative convenient roles.
The closures form part of the retailer’s transformation plan and comes following an abandoned plan by owner Walgreens to sell the UK business. Meanwhile, sales continue to rise with a 13.4 per cent increase for the three months to May ’23 as compared with the same quarter last year. Online sales were up by 25.2 per cent during the quarter with city based and travel stores enjoying the biggest increase in transactions.
The business commented: “Evolving the store estate in this way allows Boots to concentrate its team members where they are needed and focus investment more acutely in individual stores with the ambition of consistently delivering an excellent and reliable service in a fresh and ‘up to date’ environment.”
With the recent withdrawal of Lloyds pharmacy concessions in Sainsbury’s stores, this consolidation by Boots will likely help to ease the current national shortage of qualified pharmacists which may, in turn, help to improve services for consumers.
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