Last day of trading for several Boots branches – is your local business affected?
BOOT shoppers are say goodbye to even more branches from the health and beauty giant while still dealing with a wave of closures.
Boots is one of many high street retailers set to close their doors permanently before March 31.
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Boots is closing a total of nine sites this month as part of wider plans to get rid of 300 sites.
This will reduce the retailer’s total number of stores from 2,200 to 1,900.
The health and beauty chain has said that where stores close, there is an alternative store less than three miles away.
Now Rainham in Kent will close on March 20, while Castlecroft in Wolverhampton will close on March 21.
On March 23, shoppers will say goodbye to the Rhos on Sea store in Wales.
North Kenton, Newcastle recently closed, along with Welwyn Garden City and the East Parade store, Heworth, York.
The branch in Pool, Redruth, Cornwall closed at the start of this month.
Shoppers have reacted to the news with dismay on social media.
One user said: “I hardly ever go to Boots or the city these days but it’s sad to see it end like this!”
Another wrote: “The big pharmacies have lost so much turnover to the likes of Pharmacy 2U that this is no surprise at all. Soon you won’t have anywhere to go to pick up the medicines you need that day, antibiotics etc.”
More than twenty branches have closed since last year, including in Leicester, York, Plymouth and Exeter.
Boots last closed more than 200 stores for 18 months in 2019.
This resulted in around eight per cent of Boots high street stores being closed.
Many stores closed because they were loss-making and two-thirds of the stores were within walking distance of each other.
In 2020, Boots announced that 48 opticians would close, causing the loss of 4,000 jobs.
They said the decision to close stores was not taken lightly.
Here’s the full list of stores closing this year.
According to the latest research by the Local Data Company and accounting firm PwC, approximately fourteen points of sale were lost every day by 2023.
Even more have closed – a total of 39 stores per day – but it is estimated that another 25 stores will open their doors for the first time, meaning fewer stores have been lost overall.
According to the research, companies that have fallen into administration as more and more businesses switch to online are causing the losses.
There were a total of 14,081 store closures in 2023, up from 11,530 in 2022.
The rising cost of living has made households much more careful with their spending.
Due to a change in purchasing behavior, more and more people have started shopping online.
At the same time, higher energy and housing costs have put further pressure on the retail sector.
And it’s not just shops that are closing, pubs, cafes and restaurants are also closing.
Coffee lovers also said goodbye to more branches of a major chain.
Costa Coffee, which has more than 2,000 locations, said it will close two more of its cafes.
The coffee giant said it would close its store on Chiswick High Road on February 6.
The nearest Costa Coffee for locals is now King’s Street in Hammersmith.
However, it doesn’t look like the city will be without a coffee hit for long. Local media reports that two new coffee shops will soon open in Chiswick.
Meanwhile, Costa Coffee at Bruntsfield Place in Edinburgh served its last latte on February 14.
The big favorite has already closed the doors of dozens of locations in recent months.
Costa says it regularly reviews its stores in the UK to ensure it is suitable for its communities and teams.
This includes the closure or renovation of existing stores, or the opening of new stores.
The following locations have already closed in the past year, although a few will return to their local areas.
