Business

Boots to close more than 300 stores across the UK over the next year

It's reportedly part of plans to "consolidate" the business.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 28th June 2023

Boots is expected to close more than 300 UK stores within the next year as part of plans to “consolidate” the business.

There is currently 2,200 branches of the pharmacy chain dotted all across the UK, with most town and city centres being home to several in close proximity to each other.

But now, the retailer – which is owned by US giant Walgreens – is reportedly looking to scale things down and “consolidate” the business over the next 12 months.

Despite the retailer revealing that its sales had jumped 13.4% in the last three months, thanks to “more customers shopping at Boots more often” and an “exceptional quarter” its own brands, Boots is still set to reduce its number of stores.

Boots to close more than 300 stores across the UK over the next year / Credit: Boots

According to the BBC, the number of UK stores will reduce to 1,900 after the move – which is said to be part of a wider “transformation plan” for the business.

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The news that more than 300 UK Boots stores are set to close their doors over the next year comes after Walgreens notably cut 4,000 jobs at the chain back in 2020.

A number of shops were also closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic affecting sales.

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It’s believed there’ll be no redundancies made as part of the move, with staff reportedly to be offered roles at other nearby stores remaining open.

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It’s not yet known which locations will be affected, the BBC reports.

Featured Image – Flickr

Business

A groundbreaking new multi-use entertainment and leisure venue is coming to Manchester

Danny Jones Danny Jones

A new multi-purpose food, drink, entertainment and leisure destination is coming to Manchester city centre and the Salford border this autumn, and you won’t find many places that roll so much into one spot.

Mancs, get ready to welcome ‘Tangerine’.

Conceived by an impressive collective of local creatives, indies and those with plenty of experience catering to the Northern masses, Tangerine is promising everything from multiple resident kitchens, a live music hall, an arthouse stage, a specialist martini bar and more.

Better yet, after a year in the making and quietly chipping away at the striking space, it opens later this month, so you don’t have to wait long to try it for yourselves.

Located on New Bailey Street, just on the edge of Spinningfields and Salford Central, this groundbreaking new venue features two main platforms (utilising the integrated charm of the historic railway arches), each boasting its own selection of attractions.

While platform one will offer a bakery, coffee roastery, wine store and bottle ship, the ‘Canteen Club’ and even a florist, number two will contain the music hall, arthouse stage and the stylish ‘Grand Departures’ bar – serving seven espresso martini alone – Tangerine will deliver a seamless day to night transition.

Arguably, however, the centrepiece is the ‘Cantina Collective’. The food and drink hall promises seven in-house kitchens, showcasing a variety of cuisines.

The opening line-up already confirmed includes Vanda: a family-run Parisian-inspired Ukrainian bakery; Mexican taqueria, PANTERA, burger joint Juicy, as well as Yo Dutchie (a unique fusion of Dutch-Japanese food) and a new Korean/ramen concept from local sushi favourites, Unagi.

Our stomachs are already grumbling just thinking about it.

Tangerine Manchester
tangerine mcr
CGI renders of the completed space. (Credit: Supplied)

Designed not only by the brains behind Northern Quarter’s beloved Mala hidden garden but WANT STUDIOS, who will be ensuring local artists, independents, and traders will be regularly spotlighted, the site will boast a capacity of well over 300 people.

Artyom Dmitrijev, owner of Tangerine and Mala, said in a statement: “Over a year in the making, we’ve used all our experience in design, interiors, architecture and hospitality to create our dream project. A place for all the independents to come together and thrive.”

Andy Windsor, Director of WANT STUDIOS, added: “Tangerine unites the city’s independent kitchens, bar tenders, bakeries and entertainment specialists. It is a unique showcase of what we do in the city. This is a new space for creativity, food, and culture, and we’re proud to be part of it.”

Debuting to the public with a big Halloween weekender on the evening of Friday, 31 October, with another launch event the following Saturday, you can sign up for exclusive early access for free, which could see you score a few freebies to boot.

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Featured Images — Press shots (supplied)/Tangerine MCR (via Instagram)

Business

First vendors confirmed Glossop Market Hall, including two indie Manc traders

Danny Jones Danny Jones First Glossop Market Hall traders confirmed

The first vendors for the upcoming Glossop Market Hall have been announced, and the lineup includes two beloved Greater Manchester independent businesses.

Better still, the third is another noteworthy name from the North West.

Glossop Market Hall is scheduled to launch later this year, setting up shop in the historic town hall complex, where the High Peak Borough Council, a retail shopping arcade and various other municipal buildings have stood in various different iterations for nearly well over a century.

With the Derbyshire town set to celebrate the opening of the newly revamped market hall, those behind the new Glossop attraction have now revealed the first three names set to take up residence there.

As you can see, the biggest names already signed on to cook from one of the six kitchens is a Manchester favourite food hall in its own right: Hello Oriental.

The Pan-Asian paradise not only has a subterranean space below Circle Square, but also at The Trafford Centre, as well as a dessert spin-off in Freight Island.

Indie trader number two comes in the form of B&V Trading, who are based at Stanley Square in Sale and specialise in eco-friendly, UK-made treats, toys and essentials for four-legged friends.

After proving a hit with the locals, their small stall at nearby Altrincham Market has grown to see them open up not just a second site in the leafy Cheshire suburbs of Knutsford back in 2022, but now boast a third location in neighbouring Macclesfield.

Speaking of Macc, local gin and whisky makers, Forest Distillery – based up at the famous Cat and Fiddle Inn pub towards the Peaks – they round out the first wave of regional businesses set to pop up in Glossop Market Hall (GMH) when it finally arrives this winter.

Credit: B&V Trading/Forest Distillery (via IG)/The Manc Eats

And once again, as the update on social media reads: “This is just the beginning”.

Natives, day-trippers and tourists from all over are bound to visit this place when it opens sometime in November (exact date still TBC), and with space not only for a dedicated bar, dining space and a coffee shop, but a total of 17 retail spaces, we can’t wait to see what comes next.

GMH becomes just the latest among a growing trend of food and drink halls popping up all over our part of the country, with virtually every Greater Manchester borough now boasting at least one of their own – or, in the city centre’s case, what feels like a dozen now.

Exhibit number… not sure, we’ve lost track at this point.

Plans lodged to turn Ducie Street Warehouse into huge food hall

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Featured Images — High Peak Borough Council

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