Pharmacy big Boots will shut extra shops in a matter of days as a part of their plan to close down 300 retailers.
The favored well being chain confirmed that the 9 shops flagged this week will lock their doorways for the final time.
The choice comes amid sweeping proposals to scale back the variety of Boots shops from 2,200 to 1,900.
When information of the cuts was introduced, Boots had not revealed which shops could be within the firing line.
The sweetness chain has now revealed the primary 9 areas to be hit by store closures. These embody Glastonbury, Woking – the place two websites will likely be axed, West-Cliff-on-Sea and Wakefield – the place two shops are shutting down, experiences The Solar.
A number of of the closures have been as a result of they have been loss-making and two thirds of them have been inside strolling distance of one another, the chain mentioned (File photograph)
The transfer may place hundreds of jobs in danger – the corporate at the moment has round 52,000 members of workers (File photograph)
A few of the closures will happen later this yr, whereas others will shut for good as early as the tip of the month.
Boots mentioned all workers working in these shops set to shut will likely be provided various roles throughout the firm.
A spokesperson for Boots instructed The Solar: ‘We are able to affirm that the shops listed are a part of the Boots retailer consolidation programme beforehand introduced.
UK Boots branches set to shut Heathside Rd, Woking – finish of July UEA campus – finish of July
Hamlet Ct Rd, Westcliff-on-Sea – August 1
Holywell, Flintshire (Wales) – August 26
Windhill Street, Wakefield – October 6
Higher Warrengate, Wakefield – October 7
Glastonbury – October 13
Guildford Street, Woking – finish of October
Gorleston, Nice Yarmouth – November Supply: The Solar Commercial
‘All staff members from these shops will likely be provided various roles.’
Boots employs greater than 52,000 workers. Regardless of seeking to shrink the variety of shops, its anticipated the closures won’t result in any redundancies.
Talking final month, James Kehoe, world chief monetary officer at Boots mum or dad firm, Walgreens Boots Alliance, instructed analysts: ‘We’ll proceed to optimise our areas and opening hours, and anticipate to shut an extra 300 areas within the UK and 150 areas within the US.’
Beforehand, Boots mentioned it could be shutting down greater than 200 shops over an 18-month interval starting in 2019.
A number of of the closures have been as a result of they have been loss-making and two thirds of them have been inside strolling distance of one another, the chain mentioned.
In 2020, Boots introduced 48 opticians have been shutting down, with the lack of 4,000 jobs.
There was hypothesis that the corporate’s proprietor Walgreens Boots Alliance is contemplating a breakup.
Final yr, Walgreens Boots shelved a sale of the retail chain after failing to discover a purchaser, pointing to an ‘sudden and dramatic change’ in monetary markets.
Quite a lot of main retailers together with Argos and Lloyds Pharmacy introduced this month that they’re closing shops.
Figures revealed by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) in April confirmed the size of the decline of Britain’s excessive streets within the North in comparison with the South, with the very best variety of vacant shops within the North East (17.5 per cent), Wales (16.5 per cent) and the West Midlands (15.8 per cent).
In contrast, the bottom emptiness charges are in London (11.1 per cent), the South East (11.3 per cent) and the East (12.8 per cent).
The general emptiness charge within the first three months of this yr stands at 13.8 per cent – the identical because the earlier quarter, the BRC mentioned.
However Boots will not be the one pharmacy to close up retailers as Lloyds closed all of its websites inside Sainsbury’s shops final month – it struggled for a few years and stopped retail in 76 areas in 2022.
Staggering power prices and a shift to on-line buying are additionally taking a toll as many excessive avenue retailers have struggled to maintain going.
New Look is closing extra of its retailers earlier than the tip of July and Asda, which has greater than 600 branches throughout the nation, is closing two Asda Residing shops this summer season.
Amazon can be set to shut many shops inside days because it gears as much as open two new areas.