Boots retail sales decline in third quarter
Walgreens Boots Alliance has reported that retail sales declined at Boots UK in the company’s third quarter.
While Boots’ comparable pharmacy sales edged up 0.8%, comparable retail sales dropped by 2.6% due to weakness in certain categories.
Across the wider Walgreens Boots Alliance group, sales edged up 0.7% to $34.6 billion. This was due to growth in the Retail Pharmacy USA and Pharmaceutical Wholesale divisions.
Commenting on the group performance, Walgreens Boots Alliance chief executive Stefano Pessina said: “Following a difficult second quarter, we made progress in the third quarter against the strategic goals we set, and are pleased to report an improvement in our US comparable growth compared with the first half of the year.
“We will continue our aggressive response to rapidly shifting trends, and have already seen improved US retail sales and prescription growth and are making good progress in implementing our Transformational Cost Management Programme. Together, this gives us the confidence to reiterate the fiscal 2019 guidance we previously provided.”
