Boots the Chemist to sell CLs over the pharmacy counter

Boots is the latest company to be preparing to sell contact lenses via its pharmacy outlets.

In an internal newsletter for its Boots Opticians staff, the plc said it intended to start trial sales over the pharmacy counter in the near future.

The move follows changes to legislation on the sale of lenses, already acted upon by supermarkets Tesco and Asda, and the offer is being planned following the integration of Boots Opticians' management with Boots the Chemist.

Responsibility for profit and loss at Boots Opticians has been transferred to group store managers, and the business claimed that more optometrists and opticians were taking up practice manager roles.

'We're planning more integrated offers between Chemists and Opticians,' the newsletter said, as well as announcing a return to national TV advertising.

Following the introduction of complete pricing, and the launch of the Ben Sherman range, efforts were being made to make the Boots lens catalogue more streamlined, 'to maximise profits, remove duplication and make ordering easier'.

Boots added that it was making a major investment in training and development, and that all practice managers would be attending a number of workshops at its Nottingham head office.