Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
175 YRS AND COUNTERING
Exhibition charts rise of a health and beauty giant
IN 1849, John Boot opened his first shop, selling herbal remedies to industrial workers who were unable to afford the drugs sold in regular pharmacies.
In the following 175 years, Boots became a health and beauty giant.
Along the way, Boots chemists invented ibuprofen, No7 became the country’s No1 skincare brand, and there was a spell when there were even libraries in branches.
Boots is now celebrating its 175th anniversary with a free exhibition in Nottingham, home of its first store.
Pharmaceutical bottles from the 1920s, No7 cosmetics from the 50s and Advantage cards from the loyalty scheme’s launch in the 90s are among 250,000 items from the archives on show at Counter Culture: 175 Years of Shopping at Boots.
The Mirror was given an exclusive tour of the show by Boots archivist, Sophie Clapp. She says the exhibition explores how society and shopping has changed over 175 years. She says: “It’s a reflection on what shopping means to people. I remember seeing a rose-shaped soap set with flannel that my gran bought me every Christmas in the early 1980s.
“It took me back. It showed Boots was part of my Christmas story.”
When the first Boots opened in 1849, accessing healthcare was all about having money. Sophie says: “The reason why John Boot set up the business as a herbalist store rather than a pharmacy was because he was operating in a community with a lot of industrial workers who couldn’t afford to see a doctor.
“They virtually had no healthcare, but herbalism was rooted in religion, where God was seen as providing these natural ingredients and the knowledge to help people.”
The arrival of the NHS in 1948 was a major turning point for Boots.
Sophie says: “The shops moved from being solely retail to becoming part of this NHS. Those who hadn’t been covered by the National Insurance Act, mainly women and children, were able to get free medication and so prescription rates went through the roof.
“The NHS meant drugs that were previously only available if you could afford it, such as penicillin, were now accessible to the masses.”
Ibuprofen was discovered in 1961 by Stewart Adams and John
Nicholson while they worked at Boots and is now on the World Health Organisation’s List of Essential Medicines.
Beauty is also a major concern for Boots. No7 was launched in 1935. Sophie says: “It was called No7 as seven is the ‘magic number’, and was the first brand to offer premium yet affordable cosmetic products.”
In the 1960s, Boots launched the 17 make-up range aimed at teens.
Boots has at times branched out, launching the Boots Book-lovers’ Library in 1898. In the inter-war years, half a million women signed up, which led to a mention in the 1945 film Brief Encounter, when Celia Johnson’s character changes her library book at Boots.
Boots now has 2,100 UK stores and made £6,512million in 2022.
Sophie says: “People have shaped Boots stores. It’s how you survive 175 years – you have to adapt.”