Boots PLC, the leading UK high-street chain, has announced the proposed withdrawal from all wellbeing and beauty services. The move comes after reports of massive losses in this area of business.

A spokesperson for Boots states, “These actions will substantially improve future trading performance and reduce the need for further investment in these ventures. They also underline the company`s determination to invest only where there is clear potential to provide an appropriate return to shareholders.”

According to reports, in the year ending March 2002, Boots Wellbeing Services made a loss of £33 million on a turnover of £231 million.
An expected 700 jobs will be lost, with Wellbeing Centres in Oxford, Manchester, Reading, Milton Keynes, Oxford Street and Kensington in London, Leeds, Tunbridge Wells, Birmingham, Cambridge, and Nottingham facing closure.

The 12 Wellbeing Centres, set up to provide complementary therapies and beauty treatments, were launched three years ago.
In a published statement, Boots Chairman, John McGrath said, “There just weren`t enough customers. In hindsight, it was the wrong decision. When you`ve tried and tested a concept and you`re still losing a ton of money, you get to the point where you say this is not going to turn around”.

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