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LONDON — According to various published reports including Echo, Boots has announced the closure of hundreds of stores by the end of summer 2024. Out of the 300 planned closures, a few remain which are going to be shut in the upcoming months. Walgreens Boots Alliance, the parent company of Boots UK, announced in June 2023 that the company will close down about 300 pharmacy outlets in the UK within a year.
According to The Pharmaceutical Journal, Boots said that a few pharmacies earmarked for the closures are still open but would cease operations by the end of this summer. Though currently boasting around 2,100 stores across the UK, Walgreens Boots Alliance highlighted in its financial statement for the quarter that part of its cost-cutting measure involved shutting “up to 650 Boots stores” in the UK.
Up to 31 May 2024, 581 stores have closed closures and an additional 69 are threatened with closure. Quarterly filings published on 27 June 2024 by Walgreens Boots Alliance, said that pharmacy sales at Boots UK witnessed a 5.8% rise compared to the same period in 2023, reports The Mirror.
Tim Wentworth, the CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance, said: “We continue to face a difficult operating environment, including persistent pressures on the US consumer and the impact of recent marketplace dynamics, which have eroded pharmacy margins. Our results and outlook reflect these headwinds, despite solid performance in both our international and US healthcare segments.”
Wentworth added: “Informed by our strategic review, we are focused on improving our core business: retail pharmacy, which is central to the future of healthcare. We are addressing critical issues with urgency and working to unlock opportunities for growth.” The company has been increasing its saving targets annually, with an announcement made in 2023 that the plan would be extended until the end of 2024. According to the company’s financial statement, it is “currently on track to achieve the savings target”.
