Boots, the trusted destination for health and beauty products, has evolved into a retail giant over its 150-year presence on the high street. However, it's now modernising by shutting hundreds of outlets to merge stores and save a whopping £618million. The blueprint for widespread closures was unveiled in June 2023.
So far, Boots has shuttered 253 shops out of the 300 slated for imminent closure, with 47 more expected to close by the end of summer. Shoppers across the UK have been impacted by widespread pharmacy closures since last year, though London is set to be worse off within weeks. Pharmacy customers in the British capital will see four popular stores close.
Fashion retailer Next has also disclosed plans to close a well-liked store just a few years after its launch. Here's a list of the impending store closures, as reported by the Express . Is your local branch at risk? The pharmacy chain has marked dozens of stores for closure this year, many of which have already closed their doors.
Some confirmed for closure remain open for the time being, but they're anticipated to be gone by summer's end. Four major locations in London are on the chopping block, including: It follows the closure of almost a dozen branches already in the capital, including: In the latest quarterly report from parent company Walgreen Boots Alliance, the firm affirmed its plan to reduce the number of stores currently operating in both the US and the UK. This indicates that there are still 47 sites which are still up and running and likely to permanently shut down in the upcoming months.
Boots has confirmed that despite store closures, customers will find an alternative within three miles, and affected staff have been reassured of employment at other branches. The company describes the move as an effort to "consolidate a number of stores in close proximity to each other". In their last monthly report, Boots discussed this strategy: "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.
" Elsewhere in the UK, Next is bidding farewell to its Grosvenor Centre outlet in Northampton town centre, with doors set to close for good this Saturday, August 10. Shoppers took to Facebook to express their disappointment, as one user announced: "So next is closing in the Grosvenor Centre, another one gone." Many locals are mourning the loss, commenting, "nothing to go into town for these days.
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it's so sad," and highlighting a growing void: "We have nothing soon in this town." Calls for residents to "support" local businesses echoed across social media in light of what many called "bad news for the town". Next moved into the space left by House of Fraser's departure in 2014, shortly after Primark's addition to the shopping hub.
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