Health and beauty looks good to H&B

Holland & Barrett could launch standalone health & beauty stores as part of plans to beef up its presence in the category, CEO Peter Aldis has revealed.

The retailer last week opened its 625th store, including for the first time a 'natural beauty' mezzanine floor with around 1,000 health & beauty lines. If it is a success the concept will be rolled out more widely.

"We have health & beauty in all stores already but it's a small part of our offer," Aldis said. "We will definitely be increasing it. We are also looking for bigger stores and a big element of them will be health & beauty. We could even have standalone [beauty] stores."

Holland & Barrett stores typically stock around 150-200 health & beauty lines. Aldis said sales were increasing "without even trying" and claimed adding to its offer in the category was a natural step for the health food retailer.