Summary
Drugstore goliath Walgreen Co. shows that it is great to be in the pharmacy business. Regardless of the recession this $59 billion dollar drugstore chain is on a good momentum to try and expand its earnings by 7% in fiscal 2009. Walgreen Co. is giving the routine-merchandise part of its nearly 7,000 drugstores a brand new look that includes shopper friendly shelves and a wider selection. However the big change is the fact that they are now opening walk-in health-care clinics in its drugstores and in businesses across the country. Over 700 have been launched so far and hundreds are to be expected, so to speak. Walgreen Co. has also hired a new management staff such as naming Wade D. Miquelon as CFO in May of 2008 and also hiring a new CEO, chief marketing officer, chief merchant and head of health-care services. As you can see Walgreen Co. is making big changes to survive during these economic downfalls and going in competion against other drugstore chains and big companies such as Wal-Mart.
Connections
The first thing I noticed when I read this article was that Walgreen Co. has a very interesting Channel of Distribution. Aside from the standard pharmacy procedure they also mail and ship there products, have a stable expanding online business and have drive-thru pharmacies as well. They also handle lost of hospital pharmacies and work-site pharmacies. This relates to chapter because Walgreen's Channel of Distribution would have to be an integrated channel because they perform more than duty as a business. For instance they retailers because they do give there prescription drugs directly to the consumers but in addition they are also wholesaling and retailing their prescription drugs to other hospitals and pharmacies.
Reflections
In my opinion I think that it was a smart business decision for Walgreen Co. to redecorate their
pharmacies to try and improve business. Although there are no Walgreens in Canada, it is good to hear that there are some businesses prospering from the recession unlike a lot of unlucky people in the United States. Walk-in health clinics are a smart idea because you can keep up on your checkups on a weekly or even daily basis instead of struggling to make specific appointments for doctors every once in a while. In conclusion the drugstore collosus Walgreens has managed to get through the recession and continues to grow as a successful Corparation.
No comments:
Post a Comment