CLOSING TIME
‘What a joke’ sob shoppers as legendary high street chain with 2,000 branches to shut 10 shops in fresh wave of closures
Plus we reveal which shops have already closed this year
A HIGH street chain with over 2,000 branches is set to shut another 10 shops in the coming weeks.
The move by health and beauty retailer Boots forms part of plans to close 300 sites.
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First announced last year, the closures will see Boots' store count reduced from 2,200 to 1,900.
Several dozen shops have already closed, though the chain never confirmed an exact list.
Now, The Sun has found 10 sites set to close their doors for good in the coming weeks.
The affected areas include Cornwall, Newcastle, Norwich, and York.
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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, Oldham and Kent will also be shutting 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:
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- 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
- Oldham, Greater Manchester - March
Shoppers have been reacting to the news of the various closures on social media.
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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 previously shut two shops in February.
Its store on Wood Street in Swindon closed for the final time on February 9 while the Boots in York shut on February 17.
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 health and beauty chain revealed which shops would be closing for good.
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 18-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.
Why are pharmacies closing?
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.
What else is happening on the high street?
Retailers have been feeling the squeeze since the pandemic with shoppers cutting back on spending due to the soaring cost of living crisis.
High energy costs and a move to online shopping 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 the way.
Several major brands have also collapsed, including Wilko, Paperchase and more recently, The Body Shop.
The iconic beauty retailer, which has more than 200 branches, has confirmed to The Sun seven sites have now closed.
News of its collapse has left shoppers rushing to stock up on their favourites.
More stores closing down
Matalan closed down one of its branches in Leeds on February 24.
High street designer brand Kurt Geiger has pulled down the shutters on its shop in Brighton.
Department store Fenwick also shut its flagship London store in Bond Street on February 3.
Lidl will be pulling the shutters down on its site in Thornaby on February 29.
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.
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And, the hospitality sector has also been hit, seeing pubs like Wetherspoons and restaurants like Frankie & Benny's and Chiquito shut their doors.
Plus, a total of 29 bank branches are set to close their doors in the coming days.
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