Boots is back on budget

Although the third quarter figures for 1999 revealed a 1.6 per cent drop in sales compared with the same period the previous year, underlying sales increases of more than 6 per cent were recorded for both November and December. A spokeswoman for the 298-practice group said that 'this very encouraging trend' had continued into the New Year, with sales figures during the first half of January well above budget and the highest ever weekly sales achieved last week . Commenting on the performance of Boots Opticians, managing director Stephen Murray said: 'Our sales in October were exceptionally affected by a combination of the dislocation on sales from completing investment in the new store systems set against the full impact of last year's very successful recall programme.'