Boots Opticians

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Boots Opticians Limited
FormerlyClement Clarke Limited (1935–1987) [1]
Company type Subsidiary
IndustryOphthalmic & dispensing opticians
Predecessor
  • Clement Clarke Ltd.
  • Dollond & Aitchison Ltd.
Founded1983 (1983)
Headquarters Beeston, Nottingham, England, UK
Area served
UK
Key people
James Arrow (Managing Director) [2]
ProductsSpectacles, contact lenses
RevenueIncrease2.svg £235.5m (2011) [3]
Increase2.svg £17.7m (2011) [3]
Increase2.svg £13.1m (2011) [3]
Owner Walgreens Boots Alliance
Number of employees
4,156 (average full-time equiv, 2011) [3]
Parent Boots UK (1987–present)
Subsidiaries Boots Opticians Professional Services
Website www.boots.com/opticians OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Boots Opticians Limited 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%).[ citation needed ]

Contents

History

Boots Opticians branch in Chichester, West Sussex Boots Opticians in North Street - geograph.org.uk - 1559165 (cropped).jpg
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.[ citation needed ] Boots Opticians Ltd was formed as a subsidiary of Boots The Chemists Ltd in 1987, with the acquisition of Clement Clarke Ltd. [4] and Curry and Paxton Ltd.[ citation needed ]

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

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. [5] [6] In May 2019, the company was reported to be considering closing more than 200 stores within two years. [7]

As of 2020 there were around 630 stores, 180 of them operated by franchisees. [8] Amid falling sales during the COVID-19 pandemic, plans to close 48 stores were announced in July 2020. [9]

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". [10] [11]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Clement Clarke Limited overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". Companies House . 1 July 1935. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  2. ↑ "Boots Opticians Professional Services Ltd, Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended August 2020". gov.uk.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Boots Opticians Professional Services Ltd, Directors' report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2011, approved 30 June 2011.
  4. ↑ "Boots Opticians Limited". Companies House. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  5. ↑ Griffin, Jon (29 January 2009). "Boots takes over Dollond & Aitchison". The Birmingham Post . Archived from the original on 1 February 2009. Retrieved 29 January 2009.
  6. ↑ "Boots Opticians to merge with Dollond & Aitchison". Alliance Boots. 29 January 2009. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  7. ↑ Sheldon, Jess (29 May 2019). "Boots UK closures: Is your local store closing? Boots reviewing 'underperforming' stores". Daily Express. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  8. ↑ "Why Boots Optical Franchising?". www.bootsopticiansfranchise.com. Archived from the original on 19 October 2020. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  9. ↑ Coker, James (9 July 2020). "Boots announces 4,000 job losses as it focuses on digital". Essential Retail. Archived from the original on 14 August 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  10. ↑ "GOC imposes financial penalty on Boots Opticians LTD". General Optical Council. 1 March 2019. Archived from the original on 29 January 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  11. ↑ "Determination of a Substantive Hearing". General Optical Council. 27 February 2019. Archived from the original on 26 June 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
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