Several hundred Boots stores could be closed in the latest sign of turmoil on Britain’s high streets.
Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), the pharmacy retailer’s US owner, is reportedly looking at shutting down more than 200 Boots outlets across the UK over the next two years, according to Sky News.
A significant number of stores at Britain’s largest chain of chemists could be axed under WBA’a major resutrcutring plans, less than a month after the group’s latest accounts showed that profits at Boots UK stores plunged by 18.3 per cent last year.
Last month the WBA announced it was undertaking a review of its Boots estate, with the business “focusing on low-performing stores and opportunities for consolidation”.
A Boots spokesperson said: “We currently do not have a major programme envisaged, but as you’d expect we always review underperforming stores and seek out opportunities for consolidation.”
As part of its drive to save money, Boots told its employees in February that it had proposed plans to cut up to 350 jobs from the company’s head office in Nottingham.
