Boots the Chemists.html |
| | | ca | | | de | | | en | | | es | | | fr | | | it | | | nl | | | no | | | pl | | | pt | | | ru | | | ro | | | fi | | | sv | | | tr | | | vo | | |
| |  |
 |
|
| Fate | Merged with Alliance Unichem |
|---|---|
| Successor | Alliance Boots |
| Founded | Alliance Boots 2006 Boots 1849 Alliance Unichem 1997 |
| Headquarters |  Nottingham, England, UK |
| Key people | Stefano Pessina - Executive Chairman Alex Gorley - Chief Executive - John Boot - Boots Founder |
| Industry | Pharmaceuticals Healthcare Beauty |
| Products | Boots Alliance Pharmacy No 7 - Makeup Soltan - Sun cream Almus - Generic Drugs |
| Employees | ~100,000 |
| Subsidiaries | Boots UK Limited Boots Retail International Boots Properties |
The Boots Company, commercially known as Boots is a leading pharmacy chain in the United Kingdom, with outlets in most high streets throughout the country. Its parent company, Boots Group plc merged with Alliance UniChem plc on 31 July 2006 to become Alliance Boots.
Contents |
History
Boots was founded in Nottingham, England by John Boot who opened his original shop in 1849.1 The Company was transformed into a national chain by his son Jesse. Its logo was based on a design made by one of Jesse's signwriters during the 1870s. The chain was established during that time, and for the first time they became official dispensing chemist, stocking prescription medicines. In 1920, Jesse Boot sold the company to the American United Drug Company.1 However, deteriorating economic circumstances in North America saw Boots sold back into British hands in 19331 with the son of the founder, John Boot who inherited the title Lord Trent from his father, at the head of the Company.2 In 1968 it acquired the 622-strong Timothy Whites and Taylors Ltd chain.1
In 1982 the company opened a new manufacturing plant in Cramlington, Northumberland.1
In 1991 Boots started to diversify and bought Halfords, the bicycle and car parts business.3
In the early 1990's the Company also developed the Childrens World business but sold it in 1996 to Mothercare.4
Boots branched into dentistry in 1998, with a number of stores offering this service.5
Boots sold its Do-It-All home furnishings chain to Focus in 1998.6
In 2002 Boots sold Halfords, its bicycle and car parts business.7
Boots has also made a venture into "Wellbeing" services offering customers treatments ranging from facials, homeopathy, and nutritional advice to laser eye surgery and Botox but these services were abandoned in 2003.8
In late 2004 Boots also sold off the Lasix eye surgery services to Optical Express.9
Boots has also diversified into the research and manufacturing of drugs. It developed ibuprofen, a painkiller and in 1994 divested production to BASF,10 and in 2006 sold the Nurofen brand to Reckitt Benckiser.11
In 2005 the Company considered moving into selling sex toys but then announced that they had decided not to.12
On 1 October 2005, rumours began to spread that Boots and Alliance UniChem were planning to merge, although there had been no official announcement. This was formally announced on 3 October by the Chairman of the Boots Group, Sir Nigel Rudd. He said of the deal, "I believe that this merger does an awful lot for customers, for shareholders, and for indeed the employees". On 3 October 2005, the merger was confirmed, and the new group took on the name Alliance Boots PLC. The merger became effective on 31 July 2006.13
International
Since 1936, there have been Boots stores outside the UK. Stores in countries as widely spread as New Zealand, Canada (see Pharma Plus) and France were all closed in the 1980s. A new roll-out started in 1997 with The Netherlands, Thailand, Taiwan and Japan but only Thailand survives, as an independent chain.
Stores in Ireland have survived under the Boots company, with flagship stores on Dublin's Grafton Street, Dundrum, Waterford, Limerick, Galway and various Cork locations. Much of the Irish chain was acquired by purchasing Hayes Conyngham Robinson in 1998,14 although Boots had been present in Ireland prior to this. HCR stores have all been re-branded but the individual units are still often separate Limited Companies with HCR-derived names, and this is printed on their receipts.
In other countries (including USA, Switzerland,Hong Kong and Kuwait ), Boots products are sold from instore 'implants' in department stores and other drugstores, such as Watson's and Target. A new store has recently opened in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Financial performance
| Year ended | Revenue (£m) | Profit before tax (£m) | Net profit (£m) | Basic eps (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 March 2006 * | 5,027.4 | 348.9 | 303.4 | 44.5 |
| 31 March 2005 | 5,469.1 | 427.6 | 302.4 | 40.9 |
| 31 March 2004 | 5,325.0 | 579.9 | 411.5 | 52.8 |
| 31 March 2003 | 5,325.2 | 494.9 | 301.6 | 36.0 |
| 31 March 2002 | 5,328.3 | 595.8 | 404.3 | 45.9 |
| 31 March 2001 | 5,220.9 | 492.2 | 333.2 | 37.9 |
| 31 March 2000 | 5,187.0 | 561.7 | 399.0 | 45.0 |
* Continuing operations only. Sales from discontinued operations were £443.8 million and profit for the year on discontinued operations was £1,469.3 million, including a profit on disposal of £1,370.7 million.
These financial results are of Boots Group PLC as a stand- alone company, before the Alliance UniChem Plc merger and the change of name to Alliance Boots plc.
The Boots Estate
The Boots Estate features a range of listed buildings, notably D6 and D10 which are both Grade I, and D31, D36, and D90 which are Grade II. Staff enjoy a staff restaurant, coffee and snack shops, newsagent, a branch of Boots The Chemist, an Opticians branch and cash point situated within beautifully landscaped grounds.
The landscaped grounds include the Millennium Garden which features a herb garden (with some plants that Jesse used in his original herbal remedies) in the shape of a goose foot - harking back to Jesse's original shop on Goosegate in Nottingham.
The Boots Museum is now closed (due to cost cutting) and historical items are in storage.
References
- ^ a b c d e Boots Learning Store
- ^ 'Interwar retail internationalization: Boots under American ownership', International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, 7(2), 1997
- ^ And it's all thanks to a passion for a penny-farthing bicycle
- ^ Boots in Childrenswear pact to sell Adams range
- ^ Boots to launch dental clinics
- ^ Boots decides that for £68m Focus can do-it-all
- ^ Boots sells Halfords
- ^ Boots ditches well being strategy
- ^ Optical Express buys Boots laser business
- ^ Boots is pacesetter for drug chains in the UK
- ^ Boots sells Nurofen in £1.9bn deal
- ^ Boots shelves sex toys sale plan
- ^ Boots announces £7bn merger
- ^ Pharmacists join the ranks of millionaires