Walgreens Boots Alliance

Sector: Drugstore Countries of operation: Chile, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Thailand, the UK and the US Key product categories: Health and wellness, beauty, pharmaceuticals Annual Metrics [caption id="attachment_151433" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Fiscal year ends August 31 of the same calendar year
Trailing twelve months (TTM) for the period ended February 28, 2022[/caption]   Summary Walgreens Co. was founded in 1901, when pharmacist Charles R. Walgreen Sr. purchased the Chicago drugstore where he worked. Through the years, Walgreens grew into a large drugstore chain across the US and, in 2014, merged with Alliance Boots to form Walgreens Boots Alliance. Alliance Boots was the result of a 2006 merger of British drugstore group Boots and European pharmacy group Alliance UniChem. Boots was founded in 1849 by John Boot in Nottingham, UK. Walgreens Boots Alliance (Walgreens) is headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, and operates drugstores and retail pharmacies across Europe and the US, and in parts of Asia and South America. The company’s portfolio includes retail banners Boots, Duane Reade and Walgreens, as well as health and beauty product brands No. 7, Botanics, Finest Nutrition, Liz Earle, NICE!, Soap & Glory, Sleek MakeUP and YourGoodSkin. As of February 28, 2022, the company operates a total of 12,923 stores worldwide. Company Analysis Coresight Research insight: Walgreens Boots Alliance is the largest retail pharmacy, health and daily living destination across the Europe and US. Vaccination and testing drives have been a tailwind for the company, but its core businesses have also continued to see strong growth, backed by a strong recovery in the retail sector both in the US and in international markets. Despite facing challenges due to rising labor costs and product shortages, the company has continued to deliver strong results throughout its business segments and has made progress on its strategic priorities. The company posted strong results in the first quarter of fiscal year 2022, ended November 30, 2021, which has bolstered the company’s confidence, leading to it raising its guidance for the full year. Walgreens Boots Alliance has been prioritizing partnerships over acquisitions and continues to expand its VillageMD partnership to provide an integrated primary care and pharmacy model. Walgreens hopes to establish 600 centers within four years, with 200 open by the end of 2022. These could boost profits in near and long term, as the model is highly scalable with attractive unit economics over time.

Tailwinds	Headwinds
Strong brand portfolio that places the company in a leadership position in both the US and UK retail pharmacy industries Strengthened omnichannel offerings Consumers’ increased focus on health and wellness products International presence with retail pharmacies in nine countries Continuing expansion	Amazon and Walmart’s entrance into the pharmaceutical space could reduce its market share Stiff competition from CVS Health in the US and many small industry players entering the market Structural pressures such as pricing and reimbursement pressures, which could impact Walgreen’s growth potential

  Strategy In October 2021, Walgreens announced the launch of its “Transformational Consumer-Centric Healthcare Strategy.” The company plans to achieve a leadership position in providing local clinical services, focusing on consumer-centric technology alongside its pharmacy network. Walgreens Health is the core of its strategy—the company’s technology-enabled care model, which is nationally scaled and locally delivered. The strategy aims to drive sustainable and long-term profitable growth and prioritizes four key focus areas. 1. Transform and align its core competencies

• Expand its brands and increase its health and wellness offerings
• Focus on activating members through personalized omnichannel messaging and offers
• Expand its digital media business, which launched in 2021
• Remodel and align its core services by building the “pharmacy of the future,” to support and enable its healthcare
• Expand its automated micro-fulfillment centers to drive efficiency and reduce costs

2. Build the next growth engine by offering consumer-centric healthcare solutions

• Leverage consumer-centric technology and its pharmacy network to deliver value-based care
• Improve partnerships with patients, payors and providers
• Expand healthcare touch point between Walgreens Health corners and the co-located clinics with VillageMD

3. Optimize capital allocation and focus its portfolio

• Optimize capital allocation by placing greater focus on its core assets and apply a rigorous strategic lens to equity investments, exploring all options to unlock value

4. Build a high-performance culture and a strong team

• Maintain a diverse and highly talented team
• In preparation for this strategy, Walgreens announced majority investments in VillageMD and CareCentrix, which the company believes have strengthened Walgreens Health’s capabilities in home care, primary care and post-acute care.

Revenue Breakdown (FY21) [caption id="attachment_151434" align="aligncenter" width="420"] Source: Company reports[/caption]   Company Developments

Date	Development
May 18, 2022	Revolution Beauty, a British-based cruelty-free skincare and cosmetics brand, announces its brand Makeup Revolution's expansion into select Walgreens stores and walgreens.com.
May 4, 2022	Walgreens announces three key executive leadership appointments: Linh Peters, senior Vice President (SVP) and Chief Marketing Officer (CMO); Luke Rauch, SVP and Chief Merchandising Officer; and Bala Visalatha, SVP and Chief Product Officer.
April 28, 2022	Walgreens Boots Alliance and VillageMD announce a goal to open more than 10 new Village Medical at Walgreens primary care practices in Massachusetts by the beginning of 2023.
April 26, 2022	Hey Humans, an eco-conscious personal care brand, announces greater access to high performance, clean and sustainably-packaged personal care at over 6,0000 Walgreens retail locations nationwide and on walgreens.com.
April 11, 2022	Walgreens announces that it is broadening its effort to address theft and organized retail crime across more than 2,200 stores nationwide in partnership with ALTO US, a provider of innovative loss prevention and tech-enabled security services.
April 6, 2022	Walgreens Health and Blue Shield of California expand access to in-person and virtual care options through the launch of 12 new Walgreens Health Corner locations in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles County.
March 17, 2022	Walgreens Boots Alliance and VillageMD announce plans to open three new Village Medical at Walgreens primary care practices in the Southern New Hampshire area by the end of summer 2022.
March 16, 2022	Tripadvisor, a travel guidance platform, announces a partnership with Walgreens to promote and encourage safe and responsible travel during spring break and school vacations in the US.
March 7, 2022	Walgreens and Labcorp, a leading global life sciences company, announce the nationwide availability of Pixel by Labcorp, a PCR Covid-19 test available through Labcorp OnDemand at no cost to individuals who meet clinical guidelines.
February 16, 2022	Walgreens Boots Alliance and VillageMD announce plans to open five new Village Medical at Walgreens coordinated primary care practices in the Jacksonville area of Florida through summer 2022, with the first opening on February 15.
February 2, 2022	Walgreens Boots Alliance announces the appointment of Steven J. Shulman to the company’s board of directors. He joins the board as a director, effective January 27, 2022, and becomes the board’s eleventh member.
January 20, 2022	Walgreens Boots Alliance and VillageMD announce plans to open eight new Village Medical at Walgreens coordinated primary care and pharmacy practices in the Tucson area of Arizona in 2022, with the first opening on February 8.
January 5, 2022	Walgreens Boots Alliance announce the appointment of Omorlie Harris as company’s Senior Vice President, Global Treasurer.
December 17, 2021	Walgreens extends its hours for placing and receiving same-day delivery orders nationwide. At most locations, customers may now place orders up to 7pm local time for same-day delivery in as little as one hour. If ordering outside of these hours, Walgreens will deliver the order by noon the next day.
December 15, 2021	Walgreens Boots Alliance and VillageMD announce plans to expand into San Antonio with the opening of nine Village Medical at Walgreens primary care practices in 2022.
November 30, 2021	Walgreens Boots Alliance acquires the remaining stake in the GEHE-Alliance Healthcare joint venture from McKesson
November 12, 2022	Walgreens Boots Alliance and VillageMD announce plans to open 20 new Village Medical at Walgreens primary care practices in the Tampa area in 2022.
November 4, 2022	Walgreens Boots Alliance announces the appointment of Tiffany Kanaga as the company’s Vice President, Global Investor Relations.
October 22, 2021	Walgreens Boots Alliance expands its pharmacist training, including new initiatives to help meet growing need for mental health resources
October 14, 2021	Walgreens Boots Alliance unveils its new strategy, “Transformational Consumer-Centric Healthcare” to drive sustainable, long-term profitable growth.
October 14, 2021	Walgreens Boots Alliance announces that it will make an additional investment in VillageMD to advance its strategic position in the delivery of value-based primary care, a $1 trillion, fast-growing segment of the healthcare system.
October 12, 2021	Walgreens Boots Alliance announces two key executive leadership changes. Holly May is appointed as Executive Vice President and Global Chief Human Resources Officer, and Anita Allemand is appointed Chief Transformation and Integration Officer.
October 7, 2021	Walgreens Boots Alliance, in collaboration with Vitamin Angels, announces that more than 300 million women and children around the world have received life-changing vitamins and minerals through their eight-year partnership.
September 21, 2021	Walgreens Boots Alliance announces that it, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Walgreen Co., will make a majority investment in Shields Health Solutions, an industry leader in integrated, health system-owned specialty pharmacy care.
August 27, 2021	Walgreens Boots Alliance announces three key executive leadership appointments. Danielle Gray is appointed as Executive Vice President and Global Chief Legal Officer for Walgreens Boots Alliance, Tracey Brown as President of Retail Products and Chief Customer Officer for Walgreens, and Jeff Gruener as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.
July 23, 2021	Walgreens Boots Alliance and VillageMD announce plans to open new Village Medical at Walgreens practices in Indiana, including in Griffith, Merrillville, Portage and South Bend.
June 2, 2021	Walgreens Boots Alliance announces that it has completed the sale of its Alliance Healthcare businesses to AmerisourceBergen for approximately $6.5 billion, comprising $6.3 billion in cash (subject to a customary net cash and working capital adjustment) and 2 million shares of AmerisourceBergen common stock.
May 7, 2021	Walgreens Boots Alliance commits $350,000 to help address critical Covid-19 needs during a surge in cases and deaths in India.
April 9, 2021	Walgreens Boots Alliance announces the commencement of cash tender offers for up to approximately $2.8 billion in aggregate principal amount of senior notes.
March 30, 2021	Walgreens Boots Alliance announces further expansion of its financial services business strategy with InComm Payments, a global payments technology company, to provide convenient and accessible financial services options.
January 26, 2021	Walgreens Boots Alliance announces the appointment of Rosalind Brewer as the company’s Chief Executive Officer, effective on March 15, 2021.
January 6, 2021	Walgreens Boots Alliance and AmerisourceBergen Corporation announce strategic agreements under which AmerisourceBergen will acquire the majority of Walgreens Boots Alliance’s Alliance Healthcare businesses for approximately $6.5 billion, comprising $6.3 billion in cash and 2 million shares of AmerisourceBergen common stock.
December 18, 2020	Walgreens Boots Alliance begins administration of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine in long-term care facilities.
December 2, 2020	Walgreens Boots Alliance and VillageMD announce plans to open 40 full-service primary care clinics.
August 31, 2020	Walgreens Boots Alliance appoints John Standley as President of Walgreens.
July 16, 2020	Walgreens Boots Alliance and DoorDash announce an on-demand delivery partnership.
July 8, 2020	Walgreens Boots Alliance and VillageMD announce plans to open 500–700 full-service doctors’ offices within the next five years.
June 30, 2020	Walgreens Boots Alliance announces the expansion of its strategic partnership with Microsoft and Adobe to a launch digital experiences and customer insights platform, aiming to deliver personalized healthcare and shopping offerings.
April 27, 2020	Walgreens Boots Alliance announces plans to expand Covid-19 testing to drive-thru locations in 49 states and Puerto Rico.
March 9, 2020	Walgreens Boots Alliance and Postmates announce that their delivery service will be available in 13 additional cities.
February 5, 2020	Walgreens Boots Alliance appoints Richard Ashworth as President of Walgreens.

  Management Team

• Stefano Pessina—Executive Chairman of the Board
• Rosalind Gates Brewer—CEO and Director
• James Kehoe—Executive VP and Global CFO
• Ornella Barra—Co-Chief Operating Officer
• Manmohan Mahajan—Senior VP, Global Controller and Chief Accounting Officer

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Source: Company reports/S&P Capital IQ