PHARMACY chain Boots is set to close one of its stores “imminently” with 300 to shut permanently.
The retailer has plans to close hundreds of its branches over the next year and a number have already pulled down their shutters.
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Shops have shut in Manchester, London and Woking while more are earmarked for closure in October and November.
And now one branch in Northern Ireland is understood to be closing imminently.
The store in Moore’s Lane, Lurgan, is set to shut with staff from the store being offered work at other outlets, reports the Newsletter.
Shoppers will be able to visit the other, larger, Boots store in Lurgan in nearby Market Street.
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Boots declined to comment when contacted by The Sun.
It comes after Boots announced plans to massively consolidate its portfolio of UK stores from 2,200 to 1,900.
The retailer first announced the move in June this year and in July revealed the first eight branches which would pull down their shutters.
But more have closed since, including in Flintshire, Wales and London.
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This is the full list of stores that are set to close in the coming months:
- Windhill Road, Wakefield – October 6
- Upper Warrengate, Wakefield – October 7
- Glastonbury – October 13
- Uppingham Road, Leicester – October 13
- Guildford Road, Woking – end of October
- Kings Square, York – October 28
- Warminster – October 28
- Gorleston, Great Yarmouth – November
- High Row, Darlington – November 3
- Mudge Way, Plymouth – November 18
- Mount Pleasant, Exeter – November 18
- Front Street, Prudhoe – no date
- Lurgan – no date
These are the stores that have already closed in 2023:
- Salford Shopping Centre, Greater Manchester – February
- Church Street, Malvern – March 11
- The Port Arcades Shopping Centre, Ellesmere – March 11
- King William Street, London – June 2
- Heathside Road, Woking – July
- UEA campus – July
- Hamlet Court Road, Westcliff – August 1
- Holywell, Flintshire (Wales) – August 26
The pharmacy chain is also closing 150 of its US branches as part of plans to consolidate its portfolio.
In June, in its quarterly results, Boots 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.”
Boots has said where stores are closing there is an alternative shop less than three miles away.
It comes after the chain closed a string of stores in spring, before shutting another at the beginning of June.
Branches closed in Salford, Ellesmere and London.
Other pharmacies have been closing sites too, including Lloyds which shut all of its concessions within Sainsbury’s stores earlier this year.
Pharmacies across the UK have struggled for years due to cuts in government funding and the soaring cost of medicine.
A number of other retailers are struggling to keep stores open across the UK too.
The high street has suffered in recent years as consumers increasingly turn to online retail and away from physical branches.
Businesses have also been contending with increased energy and wage costs.
It has led to a number of high street retailers closing stores as they try to cut back on costs.
Some have gone bust completely too, including Paperchase, Cath Kidston and M&Co.
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It’s not all bad news though as some retailers have been expanding.
Poundland, Primark and B&M have all announced store openings while a number of bakery chains are set to open branches, including Dunkin’ Donuts and Wenzel’s the Bakers.
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