Mothercare's new UK franchise partner

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION AS DEFINED IN EU REGULATION NO 596/2014 AND IS MADE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE COMPANY'S OBLIGATIONS UNDER ARTICLE 17 OF THAT REGULATION

Mothercare plc

New UK franchise partner

Mothercare Global Brand Limited (“Mothercare” or  the “Company”), the global specialist brand for parents and young children,  today announces that it has entered into binding heads of terms with Boots UK (“Boots”) for Boots to become our new exclusive franchisee of the Mothercare brand for the UK. Boots is the UK’s largest pharmacy-led health and beauty retailer, and is part of the Retail Pharmacy International Division of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. the first global pharmacy-led, health and wellbeing enterprise.

This new partnership will provide the strong foundations for Mothercare’s continuing presence in the UK. There is good synergy between the UK customer proposition and the customer bases of Boots and Mothercare and this new partnership is expected to create significant opportunities for both companies.

Mothercare products in Boots stores and online 

Under the terms agreed between the parties, Boots will stock Mothercare-branded clothing,  and home and travel products; this latter category includes pushchairs and car seats. The Mothercare product range will be made available in larger Boots stores across the UK including a number of Mothercare shop in shops over time, as well as online at www.boots.com.  A limited range of Mothercare product will be available to buy online from mid 2020. It is expected that a wider Mothercare product offer will be available in Boots stores from late summer 2020.
  
Further details of the franchise partnership arrangements

Having today entered into binding heads of terms with Boots, the Company will now push on with the finalisation of the detailed contractual arrangements with Boots which are expected to be signed in the next quarter.  The proposed franchisee partnership will be for an initial period of 5 years and the terms and royalty rates arrangements will broadly be commensurate with those of the Company's existing franchisee agreements.

Mark Newton-Jones, CEO of Mothercare commented:

“I am delighted to announce that we have taken our long-standing partnership with Boots to this next stage.  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. These are exciting times as we enter into these new arrangements with a partner of the scale, scope and stature of Boots.”

ENDS

Mothercare plc

Mark Newton-Jones, Chief Executive Officer                                     01923 206004

Glyn Hughes, Chief Financial Officer                                               

Numis Securities Ltd (Financial Adviser)

Luke Bordewich                                                                             020 7260 1000

Oliver Cox

MHP Communications:

Simon Hockridge, Tim Rowntree, Alistair de Kare-Silver                    020 3128 8789

About Boots UK

Boots UK (boots.com), the UK’s largest pharmacy-led health and beauty retailer, is part of the Retail Pharmacy International Division of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (Nasdaq: WBA), the first global pharmacy-led, health and wellbeing enterprise.

With 2,465* stores in the UK, its purpose is to champion everyone’s right to feel good. Boots UK is committed to providing exceptional customer and patient care, be the first choice for pharmacy and healthcare and offer innovative 'only at Boots' exclusive products such as No7, a leading UK skincare brand, Soap and Glory and Liz Earle. Created 170 years ago, the Boots brand is still at the heart of the communities it serves.

*As of August 31, 2019 excluding equity method investments