A HIGH street chain with over 2,000 branches is set to shut another 10 shops in the coming weeks.
Health and beauty retailer Boots will be shuttering the shops as part of plans to close 300 sites.
1
The plans, which were first announced last year, will see Boots’ store count reduced from 2,200 to 1,900.
Several dozens of the shops have already closed already, although the chain has never confirmed an exact list.
Now, The Sun has found another 10 sites set to close their doors for good in just the coming weeks.
The affected areas include Cornwall, Newcastle, Norwich, and York.
READ MORE IN MONEY
The Pool store in Cornwall is shutting at the end of this week, followed by North Kenton on Sunday.
A further two shops in Wales and York will be closing on March 9, followed by a site in Norwich on the 16th.
Towards the end of the month, various locations in Wales, Wolverhampton and Kent will also be shutting up shop for the last time.
Here is the full list of upcoming closures and the dates they’ll be shutting down according to local news reports:
Most read in Money
- Rainham, Kent – March 30
- North Kenton, Newcastle – March 3
- Castlecroft, Wolverhampton – March 21
- Bradmore, Wolverhampton – no date given yet
- Sprowston, Norwich – March 16
- Welwyn Garden City, Wales – March 9
- East Parade, Heworth, York – March 9
- Rhos on Sea, Wales – March 23
- Pool, Redruth, Cornwall – March 1
Shoppers have been reacting to the news of the various closures on social media.
Shopping discounts – How to make savings and find the best bargains
One said: “Wasn’t expecting this news tonight, I’m rather shocked. You’ve been dealing with all my relatives’ prescriptions and mine for years.”
Another commented: “Another one bites the dust – and we are being told pharmacies will be the ‘go to’ to relieve the burden on GPs – what a joke!”
A third stated: “OMG another one going…. God, I hope it’s going to be something useful.”
A fourth wrote: “What a joke..”
While a fifth said: “Oh no devastating news how will we cope.”
And a sixth asked: “Why don’t they just wipe out all the shops and be done with it?”
“Another good shop going,” another disappointed customer commented.
The Sun has approached Boots for comment on each of the closures.
Boots has previously shut two shops in February.
Its store on Wood Street in Swindon closed for the final time on February 9, the Boots in York shut on February 17.
Heworth will also lose its local Boots on East Parade on Saturday, March 9.
The chain has already closed six chemists in 2024:
- Cambridge Road, Stanstead – January 6
- Chaston Place, Watton – January 6
- Lothian, Scotland – January 13
- Bryn, Wigan – January 13
- Cathcart Road, Glasgow – January 14
- Northsdown Road, Cliftonville, Margate – January 20
The closures are part of wider plans that will see the retailer’s total shops reduced to 1,900.
When the plans were announced in June 2023, Boots had not confirmed which stores were set to shut.
It reported they would be from sites with multiple shops in one area.
But over time, the healthy and beauty chain has revealed which shops would be closing for good.
Community pharmacies are essential for providing services to local neighbourhoods, but hundreds have been shut in recent years.
Pharmacies have struggled financially for years due to the level of reimbursements they receive from the NHS and the soaring costs of pharmaceuticals.
Chemist chains are also being asked to pick up the slack from the struggling health service by providing more services, such as vaccinations.
The pharmacy industry has lost £1.6 billion in the last decade because the NHS’s pharmacy contract has not kept pace with inflation.
Chemists have said that as a result, they face a massive cut to their real-term funding, which is resulting in mass closures.
Boots isn’t the only pharmacy chain to shut locations, earlier in 2023 Lloyds closed all of its sites within Sainsbury’s stores.
It had struggled with losses for several years and shut 76 stores in 2022.
Which other Boots stores are set to close?
Further locations have also been forecast to close in 2024, although in many cases dates could not be confirmed:
- Colwyn Bay – April 2024
- Portland Walk, Barrow – no date
- Gestridge Road, Teignbridge – no date
- Caerleon Road, Newport – to close in early 2024
- Carlyon Road, St Austell, Cornwall – to close in early 2024
- Chepstow Road, Newport – to close in early 2024
- St Blazey, Cornwall – to close in early 2024
- Lurgan – no date
- Chard Road, Plymouth – no date
- Mannamead Road, Plymouth – no date
- Claremont Street, Plymouth – no date
Here’s a list of some of the Boots that closed in 2023:
- Salford Shopping Centre, Greater Manchester – February 2023
- Church Street, Malvern – March 11
- The Port Arcades Shopping Centre, Ellesmere – March 11
- King William Street, London – June 2
- Hamlet Court Road, Westcliff-on-Sea – August 1
- Holywell, Flintshire – August 26
- Upper Warrengate, Wakefield – October 7
- Windhill Road, Wakefield – October 10
- Glastonbury – October 13
- Uppingham Road, Leicester – October 13
- Jardine Crescent, Tile Hill, Coventry – October 27
- Kings Square, York – October 28
- Warminster – October 28
- High Row, Darlington – November 3
- Castle Street, Liverpool – November 4
- Mount Pleasant Centre, Exeter – November 18
- Mudge Way, Plymouth – November 18
- Low Moor Road, Kirkby Ashfield – November 18
Affected team members have been offered opportunities in other stores in the local area.
Boots closed more than 200 stores over an eighteen-month period starting in 2019.
This saw roughly eight per cent of Boots high street branches close.
Many of the stores shut because they were loss-making and two-thirds of them were within walking distance of each other.
In 2020, Boots announced 48 opticians were closing with the loss of 4,000 jobs.
What else is happening on the high street?
Retailers have been feeling the squeeze since the pandemic while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to the soaring cost of living crisis.
High energy costs and a move to shopping online after the pandemic are also taking a toll and many high street shops have struggled to keep going.
The high street has seen a whole raft of closures over the past year and more are on their way.
Several major brands have also collapsed, such as Wilko and Paperchase.
Many retailers have been struggling to get by, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Energy costs have risen and more shoppers than ever are choosing to order online rather than head into stores.
This has left some retailers grappling with budgets and have no choice but to close stores to cut costs.
Several big-name chains are pulling down the shutters for the final time this month.
Brand The Body Shop collapsed this month, putting 200 stores at risk.
The iconic beauty retailer confirmed to The Sun seven branches have now closed.
Matalan will be pulling the shutters down for the final time on one of its shops next week.
High street designer brand Kurt Geiger has pulled down the shutters on its shop in Brighton for the last time.
An iconic department store has also shut its flagship London store forever.
It was announced last year that Fenwick would be closing its central London store in Bond Street for good, and on February 3, it pulled down the shutters for the last time.
A Tesco Express in the Whitefriars Shopping Centre will be temporarily closed until March 4.
Lidl will be pulling the shutters down on its site in Thornaby later this month.
The bargain retailer has confirmed the sites in Stockton-on-Tees will shut on February 29.
Boots revealed it would be closing 300 stores over the next year as part of plans to evolve its brand.
High street fashion chain Peacocks pulled down the shutters of its branch in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, last month.
Entertainment retailer HMV also shuttered its branch in Boston, Lincolnshire, on January 27.
And, the hospitality sector has also been hit, seeing pubs like Wetherspoons and restaurants like Frankie & Benny’s and Chiquito shut their doors.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Meanwhile, shoppers have been rushing to stock up on their favourites after a high street chain fell into administration.
Plus, a total of 29 bank branches are set to close their doors in the coming days.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected].
Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories.
