Walgreens: Difference between revisions
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In 2003 Walgreens purchased 16 locations of the [[Vancouver, Washington]] based [[Hi-School Pharmacy Inc.]] stores, including the original Hi-School Pharmacy location in Vancouver, and converted them to Walgreens. |
In 2003 Walgreens purchased 16 locations of the [[Vancouver, Washington]] based [[Hi-School Pharmacy Inc.]] stores, including the original Hi-School Pharmacy location in Vancouver, and converted them to Walgreens. |
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As Walgreens has expanded, the public has sometimes criticized them for a Walmart-like business model. |
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[[Image:JAR.jpg|thumb|right|85px|Jeff Rein, Chairman and CEO]] |
[[Image:JAR.jpg|thumb|right|85px|Jeff Rein, Chairman and CEO]] |
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Revision as of 00:12, 28 June 2007
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| Company type | Public (NYSE: WAG) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1901 |
| Headquarters | Deerfield, Illinois |
Key people | Jeff Rein, Chairman and CEO Greg Wasson, President and COO |
| Products | Retail-Pharmacy-Photo |
| Revenue |  47.41 billion USD |
2,091,000,000 (2010)  | |
Number of employees | 195,000+ |
| Website | www.walgreens.com |
Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG), d/b/a Walgreens (without an apostrophe), is a pharmacy chain, mail service pharmacy, pharmacy benefit manager (PBM), and specialty pharmacy which has operations throughout the continental United States and Puerto Rico. There are more than 5,700 Walgreens in operation with a current goal to have 7,000 stores by 2010. Of the 5,700+ Walgreens locations, about 2,000 of them are open 24-hours, including the pharmacy. Over 4 million customers are served by Walgreens daily chain-wide and over 500 million prescription scripts are filled anually. Walgreens was founded in Chicago, Illinois, in 1901 and has since expanded throughout the United States. Its headquarters is located in Deerfield, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Its main competitors are CVS/pharmacy, Wal-Mart, Rite Aid as well as Target Corporation.
A typical Walgreens store is about 14,500 square feet with 11,000 square feet of sales area. They offer nearly 25,000 items for sale and typically staff between 25 and 30 people per store. On average, one store pulls in $7.9 million in annual sales. Most stores include a pharmacy, a photo lab, a cosmetics counter, and a general merchandise area. Select stores in metrolpolitan Chicago, Atlanta, Kansas City, Las Vegas, and St. Louis now include Walgreens Health Corner Clinics where certified staff diagnose, treat, and prescribe for common illnesses and can also issue vaccinations and physicals in select locations. These clinics are open 7 days a week; including evenings and weekends with no appointments necessary and with acceptance of most major insurance plans.
History
Beginnings
The Walgreens chain began as a drug store owned by Charles R. Walgreen, Sr.. [1] After he died, his son Charles R. Walgreen Jr. took over and ran the chain until his retirement. The Charles R. Walgreen Jr. years were relatively prosperous, but lacked the massive expansion seen in the early part of the company. Charles "Cork" R. Walgreen III took over after Jr's retirement in the early 1970s, and brought the company through many modern initiatives, including the switch to a computer inventory based system (bar code scanning). The Walgreen family was not involved in senior management of the company for a short period following Charles' retirement. In 1995, Kevin P. Walgreen was made a vice-president and promoted to Senior Vice-President of Operations - Southern Division in 2006. [2]
Related ventures
Walgreens formerly owned Sanborns, the largest pharmacy chain in Mexico, having purchased Sanborns from Frank Sanborn in 1946 and selling it to Grupo Carso in 1985. [3]
In the 1980s, Walgreens owned and operated a chain of casual family restaurants named Wag's, a belated attempt to compete with Woolworth’s lunch counters. Walgreens sold most of these to Marriott Corporation in 1988[4] and by 1991 the chain had completely gone out of business.
Contributions to popular culture
Walgreens claims responsibility for the popularization of the malted milkshake (or at least its version of the malted milkshake), invented by Ivar "Pop" Coulson in 1922 [5], although milkshakes and malted milk had been around for some time before. This development coincided with the invention of the electric blender in the same year.
Recent Expansion
Walgreens opened its 3000th store in Chicago in 2000. Its 4000th store opened in 2003 in Van Nuys, California, and most recently Walgreens opened its 5000th store in Richmond, Virginia in October of 2005. Walgreens recently acquired the Happy Harry's chain of Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New Jersey.
In 2003 Walgreens purchased 16 locations of the Vancouver, Washington based Hi-School Pharmacy Inc. stores, including the original Hi-School Pharmacy location in Vancouver, and converted them to Walgreens.
As Walgreens has expanded, the public has sometimes criticized them for a Walmart-like business model.
On July 12, 2006, David Bernauer stepped down as CEO of Walgreens and was replaced by company president, Jeff Rein. Holding degrees in accounting and pharmacy from the University of Arizona, Rein was a pharmacist, store manager, district manager, and treasurer prior to being named Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board. Greg Wasson, former President of Walgreens Health Services, was named President and Chief Operations Officer.
Walgreens Health Services (WHS)
Walgreens Health Services [9], established in 1991, is a growing patient-care oriented business unit providing pharmacy benefit management (PBM), mail service pharmacy, home care, and specialty pharmacy services. Its primary division, Walgreens Health Initiatives (WHI), is a PBM whose client list contains over 400 health plans, employer groups, third parties, unions, government entities, and other types of organizations. WHI currently covers the prescription insurance benefits of 13.5 million individuals in a retail network of over 63,000 pharmacies.
Store model
In its current business model, new Walgreens locations are most commonly set up at the corners of intersecting streets -- literally making it a "corner drugstore" similar to how many independent pharmacies evolved over the years in the United States. Many Walgreens locations offer services that are convenient such as 24-Hour Store and Pharmacy locations, and drive-thru prescription service. Walgreens also offers "auto refill". Customers can have their prescriptions automatically refilled each month for no additional charge. Walgreens sells freshly brewed drip coffees, Icees, and fountain beverages at select stores. 1500 stores have equipment to refill inkjet cartridges, with an additional 1500 stores rolling out refilling equipment later this year. As of March 2007, Walgreens has introduced flat pricing, $10 for black, and $15 for color.[6]
Walgreens Facts
- Walgreens is the nation's leading drugstore in sales, earnings, growth, same-store sales increases, prescription drug market share, and prescription sales per store, and first on the list of Global Most Admired Companies in the food and drugstore category.[7]
- Walgreens opens on average one store every 17 hours.[8]
- The company plans to have 7000 stores by 2010.[9]
- Walgreens fills over one million prescriptions every day[10]
- Nearly 30% of Walgreens stores are open 24-hours[11]
- Walgreens accounts for 14% of all retail prescriptions dispensed in the United States[12]
- Walgreens has invested more than $1 billion in advanced systems and technology[13]
- Walgreens is the largest private user of satellite transmission data in the world, second only to the U. S. Government[14]
- Walgreens was the first drug store chain to utilize drive through pick up windows for prescriptions.
- Walgreens has virtually no debt.
References
External links
