Boots to stock Mothercare products

Parent and child retailer Mothercare has agreed a franchise deal with Boots that will see the UK health and beauty chain stock its clothing, home and travel products.

Mothercare - which announced last month that it was shutting all of its UK stores to focus on its international business - said its product range will be made available in larger Boots stores across the country, including a number of Mothercare shop in shops over time, as well as online.

A limited range of Mothercare products will be available to buy online from mid-2020 and a wider product offer is expected to be available in Boots stores from late summer 2020.

The proposed franchisee partnership will be for an initial period of five years and the terms and royalty rates arrangements will be broadly in line with those of the company's existing franchisee agreements.

Chief executive officer Mark Newton-Jones said: "In Boots, another much loved British heritage brand, we believe that Mothercare has found the right home in the UK. Boots is at the heart of one of the largest healthcare businesses in the world, and Mothercare will fit in as the specialist brand for parents and young children in both Boots stores and online. We know the team at Boots well from our successful Mini Club partnership which has been established over many years, and we now look forward to working in an even stronger collaboration with the Boots team for the future.

"Today’s announcement is fantastic news for the brand and the millions of Mothercare customers across the UK. It is also great news for Mothercare and our wider group of stakeholders after what has been a tough period. This partnership between Mothercare and Boots UK brings certainty and scale to our continuing group."