Troubled mother and baby brand Mothercare has agreed a deal with Boots for the chemist to sell Mothercare branded clothing, pushchairs and car seats online and in larger stores.
It has also announced a new franchise business model with Boots and its other franchise partners whereby the franchise partners will pay product manufacturers directly for goods.
The Boots deal, which runs for 10 years, has been beset by delays due to the pandemic and had been seen as vital for the retailer to start to rebuild its business following its decent into administration last November.
It also comes as Mothercare also manages to secure a 20-year franchise deal with its main franchise partner Alshaya Group.
In a statement, Mothercare said: “We believe this new way of working will ultimately have the added benefits of improving pricing for franchise partners, which in turn should better incentivise retail sales growth and assist our manufacturing partners in reinstating credit insurance for future seasons”.
Mothercare, which recently moved its HQ to smaller premises and sub-let one of its warehouses to cut costs, expects to still take a £10 million hit from closing all its stores late last year and is searching for a new CEO, after interim chief executive Glyn Hughes stepped away from the post.
