Boots set to close multiple stores in 2024 - full list of high street closures for this year
Retailers are shutting stores in a blow to consumers
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Boots is among the retailers that are preparing to carry out a wave of store closures in 2024 in a blow to shoppers.
The pharmacy first announced plans to slash its retail portfolio from 2,000 to 1,900.
However, at the time, there was no confirmation as to which locations would be shut permanently.
Parent company Walgreens Boots Alliance outlined its plans to provide "excellent and reliable service" to customers, according to Cosmetic Business Insider.
The group stated: "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."
This comes amid a growing trend of store closures from high street businesses, including Ted Baker and Marks and Spencer, which has decimated local communities.
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Boots is set to close multiple stores this year but will your pharmacy be affected?
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Here is a full list of the Boots branches which are set to close in the months ahead:
- Caerleon Road, Newport (no specific date confirmed)
- Chepstow Road, Newport (no specific date confirmed)
- Carlyon Road, St Austell, Cornwall (no specific date confirmed)
- St Blazey, Cornwall (no specific date confirmed)
- Front Street, Prudhoe (no specific date confirmed)
- Lurgan (no specific date confirmed)
- Chard Road, Plymouth (no specific date confirmed)
- Mannamead Road, Plymouth (no specific date confirmed)
- Claremont Street, Plymouth (no specific date confirmed)
- Portland Walk, Barrow (no specific date confirmed)
- Gestridge Road, Teignbridge (no specific date confirmed).
Notably, the pharmacy chain has already shut down various sites across the UK this year, including:
- Cliftonville, Kent - January 20
- Pemberton, Wigan - January 26
- Hough Lane, Layland, Lancashire - January 2024
- Rhos on Sea - March 2024
- Clifton, York - February 17
- East Parade, Heworth, York - March 9
- Colwyn Bay, Wales - April 6
Nearly 5,000 additional chain stores were left empty in 2023 at a rate of 14 closures a day, according to data from the the Local Data Company (LDC) for PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
Notably, pharmacies lost the most sites with 787 chain outlets leaving communities amid changes to the country's economy.
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High streets have been hit by a wave of closures since the pandemic PAIt should be noted that the majority of these closures were Lloyds which were taken over by independent retailers.
LDC's analysis found that the rate of net closures was up by a third from 3,627 over the period but this is still far shorter than the more than 10,000 peak in 2021.
Lisa Hooker, the leader ofindustry for consumer markets at PwC, explained why the UK is experiencing a slew of store closures which is crippling high streets.
She said: “A combination of the lagged impact of the pandemic together with inflation across the cost base has seen an acceleration in chain stores exiting the market in 2023 at 14 stores a day and some disappointing results across the independents' sector.”
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