DE4CC0DE-5FC3-4494-BCBF-4D50B00366B5
Retail

Boots UK Sales Slump 29% As Pandemic Keeps Shoppers Away

By Dayeeta Das
Share this article
Boots UK Sales Slump 29% As Pandemic Keeps Shoppers Away

British health and beauty retailer Boots said comparable retail sales fell 29.2% in its latest quarter as shopper numbers in stores were significantly reduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Boots, part of US listed Walgreens Boots Alliance, said the fourth-quarter outcome did represent an improvement from the previous quarter when comparable sales slumped 48%.

Boots.com sales rose 155% in the fourth quarter, up from 78%in the third.

Outlook

Meanwhile, Walgreens said it expects profit to grow in single digits in 2021 after posting a better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit, helped by higher sales at US pharmacies.

Shares of the largest US drugstore chain rose 2.8% to $36.93.

ADVERTISEMENT

The company said it expects strong adjusted profit growth in the second half of 2021, as impact of the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, and supported by its recovery plans.

Decline In Footfall

Last quarter, the company suffered a significant decline in footfall in its UK-based retail pharmacies, and resorted to store closures, job cuts and suspension of share repurchases.

Same-store sales at the company's retail pharmacy division in the United States rose 3.6% from a year earlier.

Excluding items, Walgreens earned $1.02 per share, beating analysts' expectations of 96 cents per share.

News by Reuters, edited by ESM. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.

Get the week's top grocery retail news

The most important stories from European grocery retail direct to your inbox every Thursday

Processing your request...

Thanks! please check your email to confirm your subscription.

By signing up you are agreeing to our terms & conditions and privacy policy. You can unsubscribe at any time.