Walgreens
Walgreens is a prominent retail pharmacy chain in the United States, established in 1901 by Charles Walgreen Sr. in Chicago, Illinois. Over the years, Walgreens has evolved into an integral part of Walgreens Boots Alliance, which encompasses other brands like Duane Reade and operates internationally, including a major presence in the UK through Boots. The company has been recognized for its innovative practices, such as introducing self-service shopping, integrating technology in pharmacies, and prioritizing customer service with unique offerings like lunch counters and homemade products.
Walgreens has expanded significantly through strategic acquisitions and mergers, notably becoming a fully owned unit of Walgreens Boots Alliance in 2014. The company’s commitment to corporate social responsibility is evident in its community wellness initiatives and sustainability goals, including efforts to reduce emissions and waste. Despite facing challenges, including recent labor disputes and legal issues related to the opioid crisis, Walgreens remains a key player in the pharmacy sector, employing approximately 225,000 individuals and generating substantial annual revenue. The company continues to adapt to the evolving healthcare landscape while aiming to address workforce and service quality concerns.
Walgreens
Company information
- Date founded: 1901
- Industry: Retail pharmacy
- Corporate headquarters: Deerfield, Illinois
- Type: Public
Overview
Walgreens is one of the retail pharmacy brands of the Walgreens Boots Alliance. Combined with Duane Reade, another United States (US)-based pharmacy brand under the Walgreens Boots Alliance, they form one of the largest drugstore chains in the US. Boots is a major retail beauty, health, and pharmacy chain in the United Kingdom.
Walgreens was founded by Charles Walgreen Sr., who learned the pharmacy business in Chicago, Illinois. From the first store, which he purchased in 1901, Walgreen grew the business into a Chicago chain. He was an innovator who offered in-store goods and services unheard of at the time. He also offered local customers a fast delivery service. Walgreen developed private-label items such as talc and produced his own ice creams, candies, and baked goods. In less than three decades, he had more than five hundred drugstores in major markets, including New York City. Walgreens became a publicly traded corporation in 1927. Following a merger of Walgreens and Boots Alliance in 2014, Walgreen Co. became a fully owned unit of Walgreens Boots Alliance.
History
Charles Walgreen Sr. grew up in Dixon, Illinois. When he was sixteen, Walgreen lost the top joint of a finger while working in a local shoe factory and was unable to play sports. He took a job at a local drugstore, earning $4 a week, but left after a year and a half.
Walgreen moved to Chicago in 1893 and worked for some of the top pharmacists. He grew frustrated by the way the businesses were run. He believed the drugstores should focus on customer service, merchandising, and offering affordable goods.
Walgreen became a registered pharmacist in 1897, and by 1901, he purchased the drugstore where he worked. He put his ideas about merchandising to work, installing bright lights and changing the layout of the store. His was the first drugstore to sell household items such as pots and pans. Walgreen mixed his own pharmaceutical compounds, which allowed him to control the freshness of the products and keep prices low. By 1910, Walgreen had opened a second store.
Like other drugstores, Walgreens offered soda fountains, but the expensive fixtures were only used in the summer when customers wanted cold soft drinks and ice cream. To keep that part of the stores in use during the cold months, Walgreen sold sandwiches, soups, and desserts prepared by his wife, Myrtle. This service increased sales because customers stopping by for lunch invariably purchased items. Lunch counters were staples of the stores into the 1980s, and many other pharmacies adopted similar counters.
Walgreen controlled many aspects of the business. One of his soda fountain managers created the first malted milkshake using ice cream manufactured in Walgreen’s Chicago plant. Customers who bought a malted milkshake were treated to cookies from Walgreen’s bakery.
When Walgreen died in 1939, his son, Charles Walgreen Jr., took over. The company continued to innovate and expand. The third generation of Walgreens took over in 1969 when Charles Walgreen III became company president.
In 2014, Walgreen Co. became a fully owned unit of Walgreens Boots Alliance following the merger of Walgreens and Boots Alliance. Walgreens Boots Alliance comprises three divisions. Walgreens is part of the Retail Pharmacy USA segment of the company, which includes retail drugstores, mail and specialty pharmacy services, and health and wellness services. The Retail Pharmacy International segment includes retail drugstores and other health-related assets, including optical companies. Pharmaceutical Wholesale is the third division. In 2024, the company employed 240,000 individuals, including CEO Tim Wentworth. For the fiscal year 2023, Walgreen's revenue was $131.9 billion, an increase of 4.8 percent from 2022.
Meanwhile, by that time, the company also faced mounting internal criticism from pharmacy employees, which eventually escalated into a significant labor dispute related to understaffing, workplace safety, and other issues. A number of pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and other employees argued that these issues had worsened significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic. In October 2023, thousands of workers at Walgreens stores across the US walked off the job, demanding the company address worker shortages and other pressing issues; walkouts also occurred at pharmacies owned by CVS, Walgreens's main competitor in the US. That month, in the aftermath of a few abrupt resignations at the executive level and concerns over the company's debt, the company named Tim Wentworth as CEO. Walgreens, however, did not immediately respond to the workers' grievances, and the labor dispute continued in subsequent weeks.
Impact
Walgreens developed innovative practices that influenced the entire drugstore industry. It was the first to offer household and other goods alongside healthcare products. The chain transitioned to self-service stores starting in the 1950s—prior to that time, customers took their requests to clerks who collected items from shelves. The company was among the first in the nation to offer pensions to employees. In 1968, Walgreens was the first major drug chain to use child-resistant containers for all its prescriptions. It began installing computers in stores in 1981 and was the first drugstore chain to link its pharmacies by satellite. In 2002, Walgreens was the first drugstore chain to offer prescription labels in multiple languages.
Walgreens has acquired other chains and businesses over the years. The company’s first foreign acquisition occurred in 1946 when Walgreens purchased the Mexican retailer Sanborn’s. In 2006, Walgreens added seventy-six stores with the acquisition of the Happy Harry drugstore chain. The following year, the company acquired Take Care Health Systems and the Option Care pharmacy network. In 2008, it added I-trax/CHD Meridian Healthcare and Whole Health Management. Walgreens purchased the New York-based Duane Reade drugstore chain in 2010; in 2011, it acquired drugstore.com. In 2014, the company completed its merger with Boots Alliance, a British-based pharmacy chain.
Walgreens Boots Alliance established a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Committee and identified four areas on which to focus. The first two pertain to how the company treats and cares for people. The company pledged to treat employees with dignity and respect. Community wellness programs and campaigns aim to improve access to health care. Among these efforts, the company has a long-running Get a Shot. Give a Shot campaign that provides vaccines to children in need worldwide. Walgreens received the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation 2020 Citizens Award in the health and wellness category. The other two areas are related to corporate sustainability. The company established ways to reduce emissions and waste. It also was looking at its owned-brand products to increase sustainability.
Walgreens Boots Alliance is committed to sustainable practices beyond its products. It participates in the United Nations Global Compact. It is a component of the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index, a stock index based on long-term economic, environmental, and social benchmarks. In keeping with this effort, Walgreens opened a net-zero energy store in 2013 in Evanston, Illinois, equipped with two wind turbines, solar panels, and a geothermal system. In May 2021, 3BL Media named Walgreens Boots Alliance one of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens.
The company was not immune to litigation. In 2022, the state of Tennessee sued the company for its negligent role in fueling the opioid epidemic. The settlement in the case was reported by Forbes to drag the company to a $3.7 billion loss. However, Walgreens also experienced success with their doctor-staffed clinics attached to pharmacies model, and consumers increased interest. As the 2020s progressed, Walgreens faced additional challenges. In 2024, Walgreens announced it would be closing 1,200 retail stores nationwide over the next three years, representing a 25 percent reduction. These closures came in response to financial challenges experienced by the pharmacy chain. For the fiscal year 2024, Walgreens reported $148 billion in overall sales but a net loss of $8.7 billion. The company's stock price also declined. In late 2024, Walgreens reduced its workforce in several rounds of layoffs.
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