Boots Middle East is part of the Retail Pharmacy International Division of Walgreens Boots Alliance and has 138 stores across six countries in the Middle East: the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Oman.
Walgreens Boots Alliance is the largest retail pharmacy, health and daily living destination across the US and Europe.
A combination of Walgreens and Alliance Boots, the company was created in December 2014 by bringing together these two leading companies, two iconic brands with complementary geographic footprints, shared values and a heritage of trusted health care services through pharmaceutical wholesaling and community pharmacy care that date back more than 100 years.
The first Boots store in the Middle East opened on May 18, 2006 at the Kuwait Airport.
The successful opening in Kuwait was followed soon after by stores opening up in the UAE in July, 2006, Bahrain in January, 2009, Qatar in December, 2010 and KSA in January, 2011. Most recently, Boots opened in Oman in January, 2016.
Within the last 12 years, Boots has become one of the largest health and beauty retailers in the region. Its own brand ranges including No7, Soap & Glory, Botanics, YourGoodSkin and more have become increasingly popular with beauty conscious customers, while its pharmacists and healthcare teams are renowned for offering excellent help and advice. Mike Wanliss, Vice President, Boots Middle East, says, “We now have a solid network of Boots stores across the region, which offer a fantastic range of health and beauty brands, as well as excellent customer service.
We are extremely proud of our achievements in the Middle East.” Boots started out as a family-owned pharmacy in Nottingham, England in 1849 when John Boot opened his first herbalist shop. Today, Boots is one of the most recognisable names on the British high street with over 2,500 stores across the UK.
The iconic Boots brand started with the imagination and foresight of one man, John’s son, Jesse. He believed that people were paying too much for basic healthcare and set out to challenge this by deciding to make his own, innovative products at good prices. And not just to make them – but to make them exceptionally well. In doing so, he set the values that Boots still holds by today.
Boots still believes in Jesse’s philosophy of employing experts in its shops worldwide to provide the best advice to its customers. The brand’s purpose is to help its customers look and feel better than they ever thought possible. Boots’ reputation is built on over 160 years of providing consistently high standards of customer service. It is very important that Boots’ customers all over the world can enjoy the same levels of personal customer service, a truly unique product range and a welcoming shopping environment, all at great value.
