Boots confirm two Wakefield stores set to close in West Yorkshire as part of 'consolidation programme'

Wakefield is set to lose two Boots stores this year as part of the health and beauty retailer’s “consolidation programme” announced last month.

The closures will be two of 300 stores permanently closing their doors, in what the company says is a move to “optimise their locations”.

Boots on Windhill Road will close on October 6, 2023, followed by the Upper Warrengate store the following day, October 7. 

A Boots spokesperson said: "We can confirm that the stores listed are part of the Boots store consolidation programme previously announced. All team members from these stores will be offered alternative roles.”

The closures were announced last month despite the retailer posting strong quarterly results with retail sales up 13.4% and a ninth consecutive quarter of market share growth. Boots CFO James Kehoe specified the closure figure on a Q3 earnings analyst call at the end of June this year, coinciding with the release of the firm's quarterly results report.

He said: "We will continue to optimise our locations and opening hours, and expect to close an additional 300 locations in the UK and 150 locations in the US."

The report stated: "Over the next year Boots will continue to consolidate a number of stores in close proximity to each other.

"Evolving the store estate in this way allows Boots to concentrate its team members where they are needed and focus investment more acutely in individual stores with the ambition of consistently delivering an excellent and reliable service in a fresh and up to date environment."