Boots Opticians

Boots Opticians Ltd. operates a chain of ophthalmic and dispensing optician stores in the United Kingdom. The company is a subsidiary of Walgreens Boots Alliance (58%) and De Rigo (42%).

Boots Opticians Ltd.
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryOphthalmic & dispensing opticians
PredecessorClement Clarke Ltd.
Dollond & Aitchison Ltd.
Founded1983 (1983)
HeadquartersBeeston, Nottingham, England, UK
Area served
UK
Key people
Richard Burbridge, David Cartwright, John Edwards (directors) [1]
ProductsSpectacles, contact lenses
Revenue £235.5m (2011) [1]
£17.7m (2011) [1]
£13.1m (2011) [1]
OwnerWalgreens Boots Alliance
Number of employees
4,156 (average full-time equiv, 2011) [1]
ParentBoots UK (1987–present)
SubsidiariesBoots Opticians Professional Services
Websitewww.boots.com/opticians

History
Boots Opticians branch in Chichester, West Sussex

The company began trading in the British optical retail market in 1983 in Nottingham, before opening practices in Peterborough, Leeds, Mansfield, Luton and Derby in 1984. Boots Opticians Ltd was formed as a subsidiary of Boots The Chemists Ltd in 1987, with the acquisition of Clement Clarke Ltd.[2] and Curry and Paxton Ltd.

All of Boots Opticians' laser eye surgeries were bought by Optical Express in late 2004.

On 29 January 2009, it was announced that Boots Opticians were to merge with Dollond & Aitchison, forming a chain of 690 stores and 5,000 staff after Boots purchased a controlling share in D&A.[3][4] In May 2019, the company was reported to be considering closing more than 200 stores within two years.[5]

As of 2020 there were around 630 stores, 180 of them operated by franchisees.[6] Amid falling sales during the COVID-19 pandemic, plans to close 48 stores were announced in July 2020.[7]

Misconduct case

In February 2019, the General Optical Council (GOC), the regulator for the optical professions in the UK, imposed a fine of £50,000 – the maximum allowed – on Boots Opticians Professional Services Ltd for mishandling a whistleblower case. In 2014, an optometrist employed by Boots had uncovered deficiencies in earlier work of another employee, affecting several patients, and Boots management had not responded appropriately. The GOC ruled that the company's fitness to carry on business was "impaired by reason of misconduct".[8][9]

See also

References
  1. Boots Opticians Professional Services Ltd, Directors' report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2011, approved 30 June 2011.
  2. "Boots Opticians Limited". Companies House. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  3. Griffin, Jon (29 January 2009). "Boots takes over Dollond & Aitchison". The Birmingham Post. Retrieved 29 January 2009.
  4. "Boots Opticians to merge with Dollond & Aitchison". Alliance Boots. 29 January 2009. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  5. Sheldon, Jess (29 May 2019). "Boots UK closures: Is your local store closing? Boots reviewing 'underperforming' stores". Daily Express. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  6. "Why Boots Optical Franchising?". www.bootsopticiansfranchise.com. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  7. Coker, James (9 July 2020). "Boots announces 4,000 job losses as it focuses on digital". Essential Retail. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  8. "GOC imposes financial penalty on Boots Opticians LTD". General Optical Council. 1 March 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  9. "Determination of a Substantive Hearing". General Optical Council. 27 February 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
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