Boots History - The Modern Era
Our products
Self-service was introduced to stores in the 1950s and international export and manufacturing businesses were strengthened. More recent decades have seen the introduction of successful brands such as 17 cosmetics and Botanics and new business ventures such as Boots Opticians. Over the past three decades Boots has developed product ranges which are now household names. '17' cosmetics, aimed at the teenage market, was launched in 1968. The analgesic, ibuprofen was introduced in 1969, and launched as the OTC brand, Nurofen in 1983. There have been seven relaunches of No7 cosmetics, the most recent in 2005. In 2008 Boots launched the skincare line Expert, and in 2009 Boots Original Beauty Formula arrives in stores in time to mark the 160th anniversary of Boots.
International growth
International expansion has continued. Boots Healthcare International was established in 1991 to market healthcare products around the world. (It was sold to Reckitt Benckiser in January 2006). Boots International operates in 12 countries around the world. In the majority of markets, Boots works with a complimentary retailer which host Boots areas within their stores, such as Target and CVS in the USA , Migros in Switzerland and Unichem in New Zealand. In addition to these markets, Boots Retail Inetrnational also operates stand alone stores in Thailand, Kuwait and United Arab Emirates.
A new company is formed
A new chapter in Boots history started on 31st July 2006 with the merger with Alliance Unichem to form Alliance Boots, an international pharmacy led health and beauty group.
Our partners
Boots launched North American in 6 Target stores in Denver, USA in 2004 and extended toTarget locations in a number of regions across the US; Boots products were also introduced into a limited number of CVS stores in the US, and with Shoppers Drug Mart in Canada.
After success with all three partners we are delighted to have been able to make Boots products available across North America from Spring 2007. Boots products are now sold nationwide in the US in all Target stores, over 450 CVS stores and over 400 Shoppers Drug Mart stores.
