Boots has hailed a “very strong” Christmas trading season after sales at the chain grew by 15 per cent in December.
Britain’s biggest high street chemist said categories including gifting, beauty and fragrance performed “extremely well” in the last month of the year. Demand for over-the-counter cold and immunity products also rose.
Footfall in Boots shops recovered during the company’s first quarter, with in-store transactions up 8 per cent during the three months to November, as city centres and train stations grew busier as commuters returned to the office and headed off on holiday.
Online orders also continued to rise, with digital sales at Boots now accounting for 18 per cent of its total retail sales. The company’s website recorded its biggest ever day of sales on Black Friday in November, with its No7 cosmetics line, electric beauty products and fragrances in demand.
Retail sales at Boots rose 8.7 per cent on a like-for-like basis in the quarter to November. While Christmas will be included in its next quarterly earnings, it cited “early indications” of a strong festive period.
Advertisement
Shares in its American owner, Walgreens Boots Alliance, closed down $2.30, or 6.1 per cent, at $35.19 after a $6.5 billion opioid litigation charge knocked it into the red.
The group, based in Deerfield, Illinois, is one of the world’s largest pharmacy operators. It has more than 325,000 staff, 13,000 stores and a market value of some $30 billion.
Boots was founded in Nottingham in 1849 when John Boot opened a store selling herbal remedies. It has been part of Walgreens since 2014, and today has about 2,200 stores and 51,000 employees
Walgreens offloaded Alliance Healthcare, its Europe-focused drug wholesaling business, in a $6.5 billion deal with Amerisource Bergen in 2021. It conducted a strategic review of Boots last year, but ultimately shelved plans to sell the chemist, citing an “unexpected and dramatic” change in market conditions.
Revenue at Walgreens slipped 1.5 per cent to $33.4 billion during its first quarter. It swung to a net loss of $3.72 billion, from profit of $3.58 billion a year previously. Walgreens, and its peers CVS Health and Walmart, recently agreed to pay about $13.8 billion to resolve thousands of US state and local lawsuits accusing them of mishandling opioid drugs.
Advertisement
While its adjusted profits for the quarter exceeded analyst forecasts, Walgreens maintained its profit guidance for the year. Its stock was down 6.3 per cent, or $2.35, at $35.14 by the close in New York.
Sebastian James, managing director of Boots UK & Republic of Ireland, said: “It has been another positive quarter for Boots. Our focus on giving customers our best ever value to help with cost of living pressures, as well as continued investment in our digital capability and in updating our store estate, has resulted in increased retail sales and market share growth for the seventh consecutive quarter.
“Our Black Friday and Christmas performance was particularly pleasing and I would like to thank the teams for their huge efforts in bringing our customers genuinely fantastic offers.”
