Lloydspharmacy Christmas like-for-likes jump 10%

Cormac Tobin, UK managing director at Lloydspharmacy’s owner Celesio, said the retailer decided not to try and compete with rival Boots on price and widely available brands, but market its specialist skincare and pain relief products instead.

Tobin said Lloydspharmacy changed its promotional offers, scrapping its ‘3 for 2’ deals in favour of money off deals, in order to give customers value for money.

“It delivered phenomenal growth,” Tobin said.

“Rather than trying to be all things to everyone we held back on the gifting and made sure we focused on being specialised.”

Tobin added that fragrances and its mobility scooters sold well and a step up in marketing also boosted sales.

This year Lloydspharmacy is targeting 300 UK store refits to its European Pharmacy Network design, which focuses on skincare and pain relief. Lloydspharmacy has accelerated the refits from 75 last year after the retailer recorded a “strong performance” across its newly refitted shops.

Last week, Lloydspharmacy parent Celesio sold 75% of its business to US drugs wholesaler McKesson.

Tobin said the deal would enable the pair to build a global supply chain with a focus on supplying hospitals. “It’s very different to the Boots-Walgreens deal,” he added.