In a further sign of its international strength, global retail group Alliance Boots opened another store in Thailand this week.
The Bangkok store is the 200th Boots branded outlet to open in the South-East Asian country, after the retailer first entered the Thai market in 1997.
Stefano Pessina, Executive Chairman of Alliance Boots, Ornella Barra and Alex Gourlay – CEOs of the group‘s Wholesale and Health & Beauty divisions respectively – were all at the official opening of the new store today.
Commenting on the unveiling, Pessina said: “We are proud that Boots Thailand has become one of the largest health and beauty pharmacy chains in the country.
“This opening is an excellent illustration of our ambition to make Boots a global brand and Alliance Boots a significant player in Asia. I am convinced that the group‘s presence and achievements in Thailand will be a great asset for our further expansion in the region.”
Boots has been building up a strong international presence in recent years and now operates 3,280 health & beauty retail stores in 11 separate countries, employing more than 115,500 people worldwide.
Although UK trading has been more subdued in the last two years thanks to squeezed consumer spending, international operations and its wholesale division have been reporting strong growth, with the recent Christmas period producing an increase in group like-for-like revenues of 14.1 per cent.
Ornella Barra, who oversees the international development of the Boots brand, said: “We would like to express our warmest thanks to our Thai team led by Dean Thompson, for their continued hard work and exceptional commitment over the past years.
“This milestone has been reached despite our people facing unprecedented challenges in recent times, including severe flooding. I am confident that our Thai business and teams will go further to enhance the Boots brand in South-East Asia.”
