A £7bn deal has handed Boots, one of Britain’s most familiar high street retailers, to new ownership in its 178th year. The buyer is Wittington Investments, the holding company of the Westons, a wealthy Canadian retail family who once owned Selfridges and currently own several large retailers across the Atlantic. The family’s UK branch also controls Associated British Foods, the owner of Primark. For investors and market watchers, the question is what returns this £7bn bet can deliver, and the answer lies in three areas: store investment, the loyalty card and healthcare services.
The new owners have placed the upgrade of Boots’ 1,800-store portfolio high on their agenda, though what future stores might look like has not been disclosed. Business has been good in recent years. Sofie Willmott, associate director and analyst at GlobalData Retail, notes that new-look beauty areas in some bigger shops have given shoppers more of a department store experience. Since opening its first beauty-only store in 2023 at the Battersea Power Station development, the company says it has redesigned over 180 beauty halls, opened its first fragrance concept store and launched an Opticians dedicated to luxury eyewear.
“They should invest in the rest of the chain because they’ve got such a big store portfolio that I think some of the smaller stores have really lacked investment over time, and I think that is something that they need to kind of catch up with,” Willmott says. A more “consistent” look would also be an improvement, she adds: “At the moment there is a bit of a disconnect.” Jackie Naghten, a retail industry veteran who has worked for the likes of Top Shop, Marks & Spencer and Debenhams, thinks stores need to be made “more functional” by not having health hubs “squeezed in the corner”. Shoppers such as Yasmin Trimble, 22, who buys beauty products there, like how easy the stores are to navigate. “You can get everything you need…it is not confusing. It has got a cleaner aesthetic to it as well.”
Meanwhile, the Advantage card, launched in 1997, is unlikely to go away. Boots was an early adopter of loyalty schemes, and the card offers three points for every pound spent, with each point worth 1p. Naghten does not think the new owners would scrap it: “It’s the best-value store card in terms of bang for your buck.” Natalie Berg, retail expert and founder of consultancy NBK Retail, suggests the card gives Boots “a unique understanding of their customers” and is an asset the new owners “will want to double down on”. “As AI and social media change how people discover and buy products, that direct relationship with customers will only become more important.” Customers such as Katie Burrows, 23, enjoy building up points for money off, though Lewis Harrison, 25, finds it “frustrating how the rewards points only cover a full transaction”, wishing points could be used partially as at Holland and Barrett.
Healthcare is where the new owners have already signalled expansion, in a booming industry. Boots began as an apothecary and today offers prescriptions, vaccinations and a wide range of health and wellbeing services through its in-store pharmacies. Earlier this summer it announced it was expanding services for weight loss drugs, which have surged in popularity. Naghten points out the purchase comes as pharmacies increasingly prescribe more medications and services to ease pressure on GP surgeries and hospitals. “They didn’t buy this thing for no reason. They have got the blueprint,” she says. Willmott suggests Boots has an “edge” over rivals on health given its expert reputation.
By contrast, competition is tough, something Boots acknowledged affected revenues in its latest financial results. Younger shoppers increasingly seek products online through influencer ads, and rivals such as Superdrug compete directly. M&S this week announced a partnership with Sephora to replace a hundred of its own beauty departments next year. More detail on the deal is available at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c63djxry8124o. For the Westons, the £7bn wager is that store investment, loyalty data and healthcare growth can keep the returns coming.