Boots is to close 300 UK stores over the next 12 months as it looks to “consolidate” the business.
The retailer, which is owned by US giant Walgreens, said it will “consolidate a number of stores in close proximity to each other”.
Its store portfolio is set to reduce from 2,200 UK stores to 1,900 after the move.
According to the BBC, there will be no redundancies and staff at the impacted stores will be offered work at nearby branches. It is not known which locations will be affected.
It said: “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.”
The store closures are part of the health and beauty retailer’s transformation plan, which has it seen it notch up nine consecutive quarters of market share growth.
It revealed yesterday sales had jumped 13.4% in the three months to 31 May bolstered by own-brand sales, including an ‘exceptional quarter’ on No7.
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Sales growth was driven by “more customers shopping at Boots more often”.
Last year, Walgreens abandoned plans to sell Boots after suitors failed to meet its asking price, which was thought to be around £7bn.
The US giant said at the time that no interested party, which was understood to include Asda owners the Issa brothers, had made an offer that “adequately reflects the high potential value of Boots”.
However, it is thought that plans to sell or float the business have been reignited this year as the US parent company faces pressure to refocus on its domestic business.
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