Our Group today
Alliance Boots has two core business activities: pharmacy-led health and beauty retailing and pharmaceutical wholesaling and distribution, with a presence in over 20* countries worldwide. The Group has associates and joint ventures in countries including China, Germany, Portugal, Turkey and Switzerland.
Pharmacy-led health and beauty retailing
Alliance Boots has pharmacy-led health and beauty retail businesses in nine* countries, each focused on helping people look and feel better.
We operate more than 3,200* health and beauty retail stores, of which just under 3,000* have a pharmacy. In Europe we are the clear market leader in pharmacy with stores in the UK, Norway, Republic of Ireland, The Netherlands, Italy and Russia and we also have pharmacies in Thailand. Our associates and joint ventures operate pharmacies in Switzerland, China and Italy. In addition, more than 35 Boots stores operate on a franchised basis in the Middle East.
Our principal retail brand in the Health & Beauty Division is Boots, which we trade under in the UK, the Republic of Ireland, Norway and Thailand and which we have just started to trial in The Netherlands. The Boots offering is differentiated from that of competitors due to the product brands which we own and ‘only at Boots’ exclusive products, together with our long established reputation for trust and customer care.
Our stores are located in convenient locations and put the pharmacist at the heart of healthcare. Our pharmacists are well placed to provide a significant role in the provision of healthcare services, working closely with other primary healthcare providers in the communities we serve.
In addition, Boots Opticians has around 685 optical practices in the UK following completion of its merger with Dollond & Aitchison on 5 May 2009, of which around 205 operate on a franchised basis.
We recognise the special status of Boots as the UK’s most trusted pharmacy brand and continue to enhance our position as a leading provider of healthcare, beauty advice and services in local communities, through investment in existing stores and by expanding our store portfolio.
Pharmaceutical wholesaling and distribution
Our pharmaceutical wholesale businesses supply medicines, other healthcare products and related services to over 140,000* pharmacies, doctors, health centres and hospitals from over 370* distribution centres in 16* countries. In addition, our associates themselves have associates in a further five countries.
Our businesses provide high core service levels to pharmacists in terms of frequency of delivery, product availability, delivery accuracy, timeliness and reliability at competitive prices. We also offer our customers innovative added-value services which help pharmacists develop their own businesses. We consistently deliver high standards of efficiency and effectiveness.
In addition to the wholesale of medicines and other healthcare products, we provide services to pharmaceutical manufacturers who are increasingly seeking to gain greater control over their product distribution while at the same time outsourcing non-core activities. These services include pre-wholesale and contract logistics, direct deliveries to pharmacies, and specialised medicine delivery including related home healthcare.
Scale is very important in pharmaceutical wholesaling. Alliance Boots ranks as one of the top three pharmaceutical wholesalers/distributors in almost all the Western European markets in which we operate and in recent years we have entered the fast growing Russian and Chinese markets. We continually seek to grow our wholesale and related distribution activities organically and through acquisitions, including investments in associates and joint ventures. These acquisitions are either in current or complementary business areas in countries in which we already operate or in new geographical markets which are typically large, fast growing and where we see the potential for market consolidation.
Products
Both Divisions are increasingly enhancing their customer offering through accelerating the development of differentiated products.
In our Health & Beauty Division, we have highly regarded and long established product brands such as Boots, No7, Soltan and Botanics. Our product development, packaging and product marketing capabilities are very important but often unrecognised strengths of the Group. We continue to successfully launch exciting products, including most recently No7 Protect & Perfect Intense Beauty Serum, the clinically proven skincare product which provides genuine long term anti-ageing benefits. This product has generated considerable media coverage and strong consumer demand. In addition, we continue to manufacture a significant proportion of the own brand products that we sell, including the No7 Protect & Perfect range.
Almus, our exclusive range of generic medicines, is sold in five countries and is shortly to be launched in Portugal through our associate business. Our Pharmaceutical Wholesale Division also markets our range of Alvita healthcare products and successfully launched Boots Laboratories Serum7, the anti-ageing skincare range, to independent pharmacists in France, and in Portugal through our associate, in September 2008. In addition, the Division sells Boots brands directly to third party retailers in the US and other countries.
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- Figures stated are as at 31 March 2009, are approximate and include associates and joint ventures.
