Wednesday September 15, 2004
Boots the Chemist, a dowdy former icon in the British high street, has announced that it is quitting zappy areas such as laser eye correction and dentistry to focus on the day job: health and beauty products.
The businesses - all started within the last five years - have never made a profit. Last year the dental, chiropody and laser hair removal operation made a loss of £16m on sales of £29m, while the group’s nine laser eye clinics lost nearly £4m on sales of £19m.
850 jobs are affected.
Stories:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,3604,1304714,00.html
Harsh medicine as Boots pays price over fads
http://business.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1080792004
Job losses as Boots refocuses
http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0300busin…-name_page.html
Boots pulls out of health and beauty
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jh…/15/ixcity.html