Holland & Barrett to open 50 free-from stores
Free-from news proved popular with readers again in April when Holland & Barrett pledged to open 50 free-from stores over the next two years.
It opened its flagship store of this kind – called ‘More’ – in Chester. The stores would stock more than 3,000 products without allergens such as gluten, milk, nuts, egg and fish.
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What happens next: Today (December 18), Holland & Barrett launched its annual financial results with an increase in sales of 11.7% and growth in profits of 12.2% for the 52 weeks to 30 September 2015.
Sales increased from £513.6M in 2014 to £573.8M in 2015, with profit before tax up from £130M to £146m over the same period.
The firm’s ceo Peter Aldis said: “A significant development this year was the launch of our ‘Free-From’ food range and online platform, offering consumers with food allergies or intolerances such as gluten and wheat the widest range of specialist food products available in the UK, all searchable by allergen filter and all available either for home delivery or in-store collection.”
“We will also continue our relentless focus on new technologies and driving integration across our ecommerce channels to benefit the shopping experience of both new users and loyal customers who have really made the business what it is today.”