SWOT

Strengths

Boots is the most trusted company in the UK retail sector, revealing a strong legacy and the ethical
status obtained from its pharmaceutical operations. Its dispensing business drives considerable footfall
from clients taking medicine and seeking recommendations. This provides immeasurable opportunities
for Boots to invest in the fitness wearable market as well. Moreover, the brand is famous for its own-
label products, highly regarded by the target audience (Bubb, 2017).  The key strength of Boots is the
wide range of products in contrast to the other rivals like Superdrug, Tesco, ASDA. The cost of the
products offered by boots is relatively low compared to Superdrug and other indirect competitors like
superstores.
Moreover, the stores of Boots are also positioned at suitable locations that help customers find them
easily. It also offers a range of services like home deliverance and consultancy services compared to its
rivals (Girdhar, 2009). The store ambience of Boots is also eye-catching, which helps in attracting clients
to an increasing number. It differentiates itself by becoming a healthcare product, and this can provide
Boots with an advantage to launch a fitness wearable product in the same target market.

Weaknesses

The company has no global presence and depends mainly on the UK market. It is so dominated in the
chemist market that the brand is likely to face difficulty increasing its presence in the fitness wearable
market (Bubb, 2017).  Moreover, the drawback of having a chemist business is that many shops have
clinical design and environment. Apart from the core beauty and healthcare business, the brand strives
to maintain its sale volumes in ‘lifestyle’ categories like fitness or baby care products. The company has
limited resources that can create problems in the final fitness wearable launch and hinder the brand
from becoming a service leader (Girdhar, 2009). Also, Boots lacks proficiency in real-time production and
consumption of healthcare and beauty products. The rivalry posed by other rivals like Superdrug makes
the brand open to market risks as it fails to recognise campaign management programs.

Opportunities

An increasing interest in personal healthcare offers excellent potential for the company to develop new
products in the fitness wearable market and target health-conscious people. It can increase the product
range to increase sales and profitability (Bubb, 2017). It can make use of its key potentials to successfully
leverage the offered business options. It can develop its brand by investing greatly in launching fitness
products and targeting health-conscious people. It can further improve its expertise in the area of fitness
wearable by employing fitness experts’ services. The other great opportunity for Boots will be to make
its way into health and fitness while launching a fitness wearable product.

Threats

All the leading superstore outlets have significantly enhanced their fitness and healthcare products in
current times and opened pharmacy shops even (Bubb, 2017). The power and convenience of such ‘one-
stop’ shopping at these stores is a continual threat to its new launch fitness product and target market.
Boots need to cope with different business threats. Several supermarkets like Tesco and Wal-Mart are
moving into the healthcare business with strong aims. Such rivals have a range of product lines that the
clients demand. Such superstores are interfering in the marketplace of Boots, which is posing a ‘big’
threat as they could provide fitness and health products in a single store. This feature is enough to lure
clients. Such rivals are pressurising Boots to decrease production costs, which greatly impacts the
brand’s profit margin.