Future of Boots store in question

Owners of Macclesfield Grosvenor Centre’s anchor-tenant, Boots, has warned it could close a number of less-profitable stores and cut jobs after its US parent company issued a profit warning.

Walgreens Boots Alliance said it had suffered its ‘most difficult quarter’ since it was launched. The American company also warned it will need to take ‘decisive steps to reduce costs in the UK.’

This will include a review of the firm’s chain of shops. The company previously said 350 jobs were at risk at its Nottingham headquarters.

Boots employs 60,000 staff and has 2,500 UK shops. It said sales fell 1.3 per cent in the three months to February.

It is the latest in a string of big names to be hit by the downturn in spending. House of Fraser, Debenhams and many others have struggled to cope with changing consumer habits.

Stefano Pessina, the company’s chief executive, said: “While we are not the only company that has been impacted by the marked change in the environment, that’s not an excuse.”