Boots Marketing Strategy

Boots Marketing Strategy INTRODUCTION: Boots (UK) Ltd is also known as boots, It is the leading health and beauty retailer with around 1400 branches alongside in United Kingdom and Ireland. It has also more than 300 branches of Boots optician. Boots is previously known as The Boots Company, it has most its outlets in high streets throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland. Boots is subsidiary company of Alliance Boots. After merger of Alliance Boots and Boots Group Plc., Boots launched. Boots are dealing with 8 million customer every week. Boots develops and sells own brand products, a number of which are leaders in their respective markets. The Boots brand is founded on the trust, expertise and heritage, which comes with its longevity in the market. Boots Group operates three principal businesses: Boots The Chemists; Boots Opticians; and Boots Retail International. Pharmacy is a fundamentally important part of the brand; representing one quarter of sales, it is the foundation of Boots’ authority and credibility. Boots stores are mostly located on high streets; but, in line with modern shopping trends, its presence in edge of town retail parks is rapidly increasing. Over the last three years 48 such stores have opened, as well as a flagship London store on Oxford Street. Overseas, Boots is working closely with other major retailers in their local markets, to open Boots branded within their stores. There are currently 758 implants in 13 countries. Boots also has 96 standalone stores in Thailand. Boots has had an illustrious history. From its beginnings in 1849 as an herbalist shop, Boots has continually developed new product ranges, many of which are now household names in their own right. By the 1930s, Boots had more than 1,000 stores selling a wide range of products. Over the years Boots has successfully introduced brands such as 17 cosmetics, aimed at teenagers, which was introduced in 1968 and new business ventures such as Boots Opticians — now a major division of the business. In 1985 the Research Department received the Queen’s Award for Technological Achievement for the discovery and development of ibuprofen. The analgesic ibuprofen was introduced in 1969 as a prescription drug, but launched as the over the counter brand, Nurofen, in 1983. Boots’ internet business has become increasingly important in the new millennium and a successful part of the brand. Improvements have been made to the online customer experience making navigation easier, resulting in boots.com sales becoming bigger than those of the largest Boots store. Boots is best known for selling a wide range of products under the Boots brand name across health and beauty. The merger between Alliance UniChem plc. and Boots Group plc. was completed on July 1 2006, creating an international pharmacy-led health and beauty group operating in more than 15 countries across the world. The Alliance Boots network will include two retail formats, both under the Boots brand, ranging from approximately 1,500 smaller dispensing pharmacies to approximately 800 larger destination high street and edge of town health and beauty stores. In addition, Alliance Boots will also operate approximately 300 additional retail outlets, including freestanding Boots Opticians practices. Boots is also developing in-store â€Å"health zones† in its bigger stores, which will include extended waiting areas for customers collecting prescriptions. Consultation rooms for pharmacists are also being introduced, as part of a government initiative to alleviate the pressure on GPs’ surgeries.