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Boots owner Walgreen Boots Alliance (WBA) have plans to close up to 200 underperforming stores, according to Sky News.
The health and beauty retailer which employs more than around 56,000 people, saw profits fall by more than 18% last year.
The potential closures would see just under 10% of Boots’ UK stores disappearing, with staff being transferred to new or existing stores where possible.
This news comes after 350 jobs were axed at its head office in Nottingham, in February this year as part of a restructuring.
WBA would not be eligible to use a Company Voluntary Arrangement, as companies need to be able to demonstrate that the alternative to their implementation is insolvency.
A spokesperson for Boots said to Sky News: “We currently do not have a major [store closure] programme envisaged, but as you’d expect we always review underperforming stores and seek out opportunities for consolidation.”
In April following the company’s financial results statement, Walgreens executive vice chairman and CEO Stefano Pessina, said: “We are going to be more aggressive in our response to these rapidly shifting trends. We are focusing on our operational strengths and addressing weaknesses, making a number of senior appointments to bring change and accelerating the digitisation and transformation of our business.”
