personal finance

Boots meal deal PRICE HIKE: Customers could pay up to 60p MORE for lunch offer


Starting this week, the retailer is trialling the price hike in 34 stores across the UK. However, it has not been made clear which stores will be participating in the cost increase. The meal deal from Boots used to be as low as £3.39, but this will rise in some areas to as much as £4.49. London and airport stores typically have a set meal deal price of £3.99, but this could rise by 50p, or 12 percent, to £4.49.

Branches elsewhere in the country usually sell a meal deal for £3.39, which will go up by 60p to £3.99, the equivalent of 18 percent.

The meal deal from Boots consists of a main, snack and a drink and typically offers savings of up £3.85.

It is unclear how long the price hike trial is set to last and if the increases will be rolled out across all Boots stores afterwards.

There are currently about 2,500 branches in the UK, including pharmacies.

A spokesman for Boots told The Sun: “We are committed to offering great value and we regularly review all of our prices taking into account both internal and external factors.

“Our meal deal pricing has remained unchanged for the past 18 months and we are currently trialling some variations on the price in a small selection of our stores.

“Our aim is to maintain a truly competitive price together with the incredible range our customers enjoy and expect.”

The news of the price hike comes after Boots’ parent company issued a profit warning, slashing its 2019 earnings forecast and reporting a disappointing quarterly profit.

Walgreens reduced its adjusted earnings growth forecast for fiscal 2019 to roughly flat from a range of seven to 12 percent growth on a constant currency basis.

The company, owned by Walgreens Boots Alliance, said at the time it is taking “decisive steps” in the UK to cut costs, including a review of its stores.

Sales dropped by 7.1 percent year on year to 3.1 percent, with a 2.3 percent drop in like-for-like UK retail sales in its second quarter to February 28.

In February, the company announced 350 jobs were at risk in its head office as part of plans to trim staff costs there by 20 percent.

A Boots spokeswoman told Express.co.uk: “We currently do not have a major programme envisaged, but as you’d expect we always review underperforming stores and seek out opportunities for consolidation.”



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