Boots the Chemist is to close 300 branches throughout the UK over the next 12 months.
The US-owners of the pharmacy chain, Walgreens Boots Alliance, said it will shut down stores sited near to each other as part of plans to “consolidate” the business.
It is being reported that there are no plans for redundancies, as staff will be offered jobs at nearby stores.
The numbers of stores in the UK will be reduced to 1,900 branches.
Walgreens Boots Alliance has not said which stores will close.
The company delivered its quarterly results statement earlier today.
It said the move was part of a “transformation plan”.
People now shopping online
It said while there had been a surge in people shopping online and choosing own-brand labels as customers looked to save money, the business was still impacted by customers shopping online.
Retail sales went up by 13.4% in the three months to the end of May, compared with the same period last year.
Walgreens Boots Alliance revealed its net quarterly profit more than halved as demand for Covid vaccines and testing declined.
Retail sales across Boots jumped by 13.4% in the three months to the end of May, compared to the same period last year.
It was driven up by a boost in online shoppers with sales on its digital platform surging by a quarter over the latest period.
In 2020, Walgreens cut 4,000 jobs at the health and beauty chain and closed some of its shops as the Covid-19 pandemic hit sales.
