Walgreen's Role In The Pharmaceutical Industry

Placed within an industry being pressured by reimbursement rates, plagued by market saturation, and in constant fear of government legislation, Walgreens is trying to pursue new avenues to promote company growth. In order to promote market share growth in New York, Walgreens acquired the drugstore chain Duane Reade in 2010 (WAG to Acquire NY Institution Duane Reade, 2010). Walgreens also recently expanded their online presence in May of 2011 with the acquisition of drugstore.com (Walgreens Co.). While Walgreens also focuses on traditional organic store growth, these actions exemplify their large focus on promoting company growth through new avenues.

the benefits of a multichannel strategy” (p. 13). Walgreen’s image is about creating value and making shopping either for consumer goods or prescription drugs more convenient.

Walgreens has attempted to build satisfaction, value, and loyalty for their customers by remembering that loyal customers are at the heart of their business, and thus rely on a customer-on-top business model. To do this, Walgreens has learned the talent of listening and responding to their customers in the following ways: (1) to respond to the busy lives of their customers, Walgreens allowed them to fill prescriptions at different stores and offered them the drive-thru pharmacy; (2) customers who spoke other languages complained about the labels, and Walgreens responded by printing labels in more than 10 different languages; and (3) when customers with eyesight problems could not read the labels, Walgreens offered printed labels with larger font sizes so that customers could more easily read the bigger text (Berenbaum, n.d., para. 19).

Thank you Lord! I am very grateful to be able to successfully finish my third rotation at Walgreens pharmacy in Wellington, FL. My preceptor was Dr. Andrew Guvetis, a graduate from Nova Southern University and he has been working with Walgreens for a little over 2 years. During the first day, I noticed that this Walgreens was somewhat different from the others. It was designed like a wellness clinic where the pharmacist can spend some time during the day sitting on a desk right outside the pharmacy check-out counter and be accessible to answer any questions patients may have. It also had a big consultation room with comfy seating, a table including a sink and counter where a pharmacist can prepare immunizations or perform several screening tests. Walgreens offers health tests every day which help determine possible risks for heart disease or are looking for convenient ways to manage diabetes or high blood pressure. Some of the services offered include: cholesterol and blood pressure tests, body composition test and a comprehensive medication review. Test results are provided within minutes and it includes a pharmacist consultation as well.

The second significant change for Walgreens in recent history is the purchase of Drugstore.com, a leading online retail pharmacy, in 2011 for the sum of $409 million. In addition, subsidiary companies of Drugstore.com were also purchased (Beauty.com, SkinStore.com, and VisionDirect.com). 4 Analysts have debated whether the recent acquisition should remain as a stand alone business or whether it should be integrated into the Walgreens business. Proponents of the integration argue that a consistent brand experience which extends from physical stores into the digital web will increase consumer loyalty. Proponents of leaving the online venture as a stand alone entity argue that integration of Drugstore.com into Walgreen’s will open up debate on pricing may diminish the consumer loyalty from Drugstore.com, thus negating the potential increase in sales. Walgreens has made it clear that it intends to leave the newly acquired online businesses as stand alone entities. 5

The Walgreens chain began in 1901, with a drug store on the corner of Bowen Ave and Cottage Grove, Chicago, Illinois, United States owned by Galesburg native Charles R. Walgreen, Sr.[6] By 1915, there were five Walgreen drugstores. He added several improvements to the stores such as soda fountains and luncheon service. He also began to make his own line of drug products and was then able to control the quality of the items and sell them at lower prices. By 1916, 19 stores were in operation, all in Chicago. And in that same year, all the stores were consolidated under Walgreen Co. The 1920s was a very successful decade for Walgreens. In 1921, the company opened stores

In this essay, I will be explaining about the history of Walgreens and what it has to offer to its customer. This will include the services and merchandise that has made them a successful company for over one hundred years. My mission for writing this essay, is to give the reader some more insight on what they may of not know about this nation wide store. I also want to provide the reader with confidence to rely on Walgreens as their number one trusted pharmacy and drugstore.

From 2002 to 2005, Walgreens reported a compounded annual growth rate of 10.1%, growing to $42.2 billion in total revenues. This strong revenue growth was primary driven by organic expansion through new store openings. Since 2002, Walgreens has added 1070 net new stores (22% increase) while CVS has added 1,384 net new stores (25% increase), of which 86%, or 1200 of CVS' store additions, were due to the 2004 acquisition of Eckerd. As a result, although CVS reported an impressive 21% increase in sales from 2004 to 2005 compared to Walgreens 12.5% (a decline from 15.3% in 2003 to 2004), it was primarily due to CVS experiencing the full effect of the mid-2004 acquisition of the 1200 Eckerd stores. Table 3 shows the year-over-year comparison of Walgreens total revenues to CVS'.

Walgreen’s drugstore was located in Barrett’s Hotel at Cottage Grove and Bowen Ave on Chicago’s Southside. The neighborhood was prospering but Walgreen’s wasn’t. Mr. Walgreen decided to add brighter lights, expand the aisles (since the other pharmacies were dull and cramped), and add variety like pots and pans (unheard of in a drugstore. The quality of Walgreen’s pharmaceutical compounds met the very highest standards of purity and freshness. Efficiency was increased. But the most dramatic change Mr. Walgreen instituted was a lever of service and personal attention unequaled by virtually any other pharmacy in Chicago. And this was exemplified by Walgreen’s famous “Two Minute Drill” (Walgreen, n.d., p. 3).

At present Walgreens appears to be operating in a Horizontal Integration strategy demonstrated through its merger with Boots Alliance and a reported inquiry to purchase Rite-Aid. (Nichols, 2015) Market Penetration is another strategy which Walgreens is presently operating within. Their change in strategy to focus on the customer and improve customer service and relationships is one strategy that is being used to penetrate a market with vast competition that needs a differentiator to remain on top.

Walgreens is also mainly funded by store sales so the company sees long-term potential for about 13,000 U.S. stores. Additionally, the company long-term-expansion strategies are entering new markets, and improving customer service, investing heavily in technology enhancements that improve pharmacy efficiency and reduce costs.

Knowing the importance of a strategic vision, every company undertakes a complete analysis periodically. In order to create a strategic plan the parties involved must know every aspect of the industry and the company at hand. The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyze the retail drugstore industry and then focus on Walgreens, the industry leader in terms of sales. As part of the in-depth analysis of Walgreens, its major competitors will also be described and analyzed. The retail drugstore industry consists of all those stores that contain a pharmacy and sell prescription drugs. It also includes businesses that sell prescription drugs online and through the mail. Most retail drugstores also offer other

The competitive prices, countless discount opportunities, and friendly employees keep customers loyal to Walgreens even if they are not making frequent visits to the pharmacy department. This paper seeks to analyze the different components of the drug store industry and the aspects of the marketing strategy of the Walgreens Company that have kept it a strong competitor for so many years.

This preliminary strategic assessment of Walgreens will describe the company’s current corporate strategy and business model. Walgreens’ acquisitions and mergers will be examined as well as the company’s globalization and competitive frame. A brief overview of how the company is performing and its cost-based business strategy will also be examined. This is the first of four reports that make up the strategic assessment for Walgreens.

Along with the company's strong market performance, the Walgreens Corporation continually shows considerable growth. 2006 ended with Walgreens' 32nd consecutive year of record sales and earnings ("Walgreen Co. reports..., 2006). Walgreens' 2005 sales of $47.4 were a 12.5% increase over the previous year and over $1.5 billion in earnings were a 15.5% increase over the previous year (Walgreens Corporation, 2006a). Furthermore, a new Walgreens store opens approximately every 19 hours (Carpenter, 2004). Consequently, the Walgreens name carries considerable brand equity as a nationwide retailer known for quality and convenience. In fact, Walgreens has positioned itself as the drugstore offering the most convenience (Walgreens Corporation, 2006c). As such, Walgreens offers drive-thru pharmacies in over 80% of its stores, and nearly 30% of stores are open 24 hours a day (Walgreens Corporation, 2006a). The company strives to offer a merchandise mix in line with this focus, providing customers with one-stop stopping for not only prescription drugs,