Boots is set to enter its 178th year under new ownership after a £7bn deal was agreed this week with Wittington Investments, the holding company of the Weston family, a wealthy Canadian family with a background in retail.
The pharmacy chain and retailer is a stalwart of Britain’s high streets, where it has served generations of customers for decades. What its stores might look like in the future has not been disclosed, but upgrading its portfolio of 1,800 stores is high on the list of priorities for the new owners.
Store investment
Business has been good for Boots in recent years, according to Sofie Willmott, an associate director and analyst at GlobalData Retail. She said new-look beauty areas in some of the chain’s larger shops have given shoppers more of a department store experience.
Since opening its first beauty-only store in 2023 at the Battersea Power Station development, Boots says it has redesigned more than 180 beauty halls, opened its first fragrance concept store and an Opticians dedicated to luxury eyewear.
Willmott said the company should invest in the rest of the chain because some of its smaller stores have lacked investment over time. A more “consistent” look across the estate would also be an improvement, she added, noting “at the moment there is a bit of a disconnect”.
Jackie Naghten, a retail industry veteran who has worked for the likes of Top Shop, Marks & Spencer and Debenhams, believes Boots stores need to be made “more functional” by not having their health hubs “squeezed in the corner”.
Yasmin Trimble, 22, who buys beauty products from Boots, likes how easy the stores are to navigate. “You can get everything you need… it is not confusing. It has got a cleaner aesthetic to it as well,” she said.
Loyalty card
Boots was an early adopter of the loyalty cards commonly offered today by companies giving points and discounts to customers who sign up. Its Advantage card, launched in 1997, is unlikely to go away and remains popular, offering three points for every pound spent, with each point worth 1p.
Naghten said she does not think the new owners would get rid of it. “It’s the best-value store card in terms of bang for your buck,” she said.
Katie Burrows, 23, is a fan of building up the points to get money off. She mainly shops at Boots for skincare, first aid and medicine, but thinks prices for its sanitary products are “ridiculously expensive” — a view her friend Yasmin shares.
Lewis Harrison, 25, believes the loyalty card is also good value, but finds it “frustrating how the rewards points only cover a full transaction”. “I wish you could use your points for a partial transaction like you can in Holland and Barrett,” he said. “It would be good to use the points towards more expensive transactions.”
Natalie Berg, retail expert and founder of consultancy NBK Retail, suggested the Advantage card gives Boots “a unique understanding of their customers” and is an asset the new owners “will want to double down on”. “As AI and social media change how people discover and buy products, that direct relationship with customers will only become more important,” she said.
Healthcare expansion
The new owners have already signalled they plan to expand Boots’ healthcare service, a booming industry at the moment. The retailer started out as an apothecary, and today offers a wide range of health and wellbeing services as well as prescriptions and vaccinations through its in-store pharmacies.
Earlier this summer, Boots announced it was expanding services for weight loss drugs, which have surged in popularity.
Naghten pointed out that the Weston family’s purchase of Boots comes at a time when pharmacies are increasingly set to prescribe more medications and health services, in a bid to ease pressure on GP surgeries and hospitals. “They didn’t buy this thing for no reason. They have got the blueprint,” she said.
While health will remain a core part of the business, Naghten added that Boots has other strengths, including its No7 make-up and skincare products. “When you have all these people coming in for health and wellbeing services, they will also be picking up a lipstick,” she said.
Willmott suggested Boots has an “edge” over its rivals on the health side, given its reputation as an expert.
Competitive pressure
The company nonetheless faces tough competition, which Boots acknowledged has affected revenues in its latest financial results. Shoppers, particularly younger ones, are increasingly seeking products online through influencer ads rather than visiting brick-and-mortar shops.
Other big players are also in the market, such as Superdrug. And this week Marks & Spencer announced a new partnership with Sephora, saying it would replace a hundred of its own beauty departments with the brand next year.
For 18-year-old Schekina Bourne, Boots is not a “go-to shop”. “Even though I can go to Boots even in my area… Superdrug is like closest to me. So, I’ll prefer the convenience,” she said.
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