Walgreens Boots Alliance

Last updated

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc.
Company type Public
Industry Retail and pharmaceuticals
Predecessors
FoundedDecember 31, 2014;9 years ago (2014-12-31)
Headquarters
Deerfield, Illinois
,
U.S.
Number of locations
13,532 (2023)
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
 Stefano Pessina (executive chairman)
Tim Wentworth (CEO)
RevenueIncrease2.svg US$139.1 billion (2023)
Decrease2.svg US$–6.88 billion (2023)
Decrease2.svg US$–3.08 billion (2023)
Total assets Increase2.svg US$96.63 billion (2023)
Total equity Decrease2.svg US$28.32 billion (2023)
OwnerStefano Pessina (16%)
Number of employees
c. 331,000 (August 2023)
Divisions
Website walgreensbootsalliance.com
Footnotes /references
Financials as of August 31,2023. [1]

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) is an American multinational holding company headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, [2] which owns the retail pharmacy chains Walgreens in the US and Boots in the UK, as well as several pharmaceutical manufacturing and distribution companies. The company was formed on December 31, 2014, after Walgreens bought the 55% stake in Alliance Boots that it did not already own. The total price of the acquisition was $4.9 billion in cash and 144.3 million common shares with fair value of $10.7 billion. [3] Walgreens had previously purchased 45% of the company for $4.0 billion and 83.4 million common shares in August 2012 with an option to purchase the remaining shares within three years. [4] Walgreens became a subsidiary of the newly created company after the transactions were completed. [5] As of 2022, Walgreens Boots Alliance is ranked #18 on the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue. [6]

Contents

In fiscal year 2022, the company saw sales of $132.7 billion, up 0.1% from fiscal 2021, and saw net earnings increase to $4.3 billion. The combined business has operations in 9 countries, as of August 31, 2022. Walgreens had formerly operated solely within the United States and its territories, while Alliance Boots operated a more multinational business. [7]

The company began trading on the NASDAQ in its inception, under the symbol WBA. [8] On June 26, 2018, Walgreens Boots Alliance replaced General Electric on the Dow Jones Industrial Index. [9] [10] Walgreens Boots Alliance was subsequently replaced by Amazon on the Dow Jones Industrial Index on February 26, 2024. The company is also a component of the S&P 500 index; it was formerly a Nasdaq-100 company until 2024.

Operations

Retail Pharmacy USA

Walgreens and Duane Reade operate within the Retail Pharmacy USA division of Walgreens Boots Alliance. Both businesses sell prescription and non-prescription drugs, and a range of household items, including personal care and beauty products. Walgreens provides access to consumer goods and services, plus pharmacy, photo department, health and wellness services in the United States through its retail drugstores. The division has 9,021 drugstores as of August 31, 2020. [11] Walgreens runs, or ran,[ vague ] several online stores, such as: Beauty.com, Drugstore.com, VisionDirect.com, and Walgreens.com.[ citation needed ]

Walgreens has stores in all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

On October 27, 2015, Walgreens announced the purchase of competitor Rite Aid for $17.2 billion (equivalent to $21.6 billion in 2023). [12] [13] However, that deal was later scrapped due to antitrust concerns in favor of a $5.18 billion deal (equivalent to $6.33 billion in 2023), [12] in which Walgreens only acquired half of Rite Aid locations. [14]

On September 19, 2017, the Federal Trade Commission approved a fourth deal agreement to purchase 1,932 Rite Aid stores for $4.38 billion total (equivalent to $5.36 billion in 2023), [12] which was completed in January 2018. [15]

In June 2024, Walgreens announced that only 75% of its 8,600 U.S. locations were profitable and that the company was planning to shutter more than 2,000 locations by the year 2027. The stock price of Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) fell by more than 55% between January and July of 2024. [16]

Retail Pharmacy International

Boots forms the main part of the Retail Pharmacy International division of the company. The Boots brand has a history stretching back over 170 years [17] in the United Kingdom (UK) and is a familiar sight on Britain's high streets. [18] Stores are located in prominent high street and city center locations as well as in local communities. Most branches include a pharmacy and focus on healthcare, personal care, and cosmetic products, with most stores selling over-the-counter medicines. Larger stores typically offer a variety of healthcare services in addition to dispensing prescriptions, and chlamydia testing and treatment (private service). Optician services are also offered in many larger stores, with Boots Opticians providing eye tests along with the sale of spectacles and contact lenses.[ citation needed ]

Many stores also feature traditional photo processing and/or a Cewe picture kiosk where users of digital cameras and camera phones can create prints via Bluetooth, USB, or CD. Larger stores usually offer a range of electrical equipment such as hairdryers, curlers, and foot massagers, while selected stores offer a range of sandwiches, baguettes, wraps, salads, and beverages.[ citation needed ]

Since 1936, there have been Boots stores outside the UK. Stores in countries as widely spread as New Zealand, Canada (see Pharma Plus), and France were all closed in the 1980s. As of 2022, there are Boots-branded stores outside the UK in Ireland, Norway and Thailand, with Boots franchise operations in the Middle East and Indonesia. [19]

The remainder of the division is made up of the pharmacies Benavides in Mexico and Farmacias Ahumada (FASA) in Chile. [19]

Former operations

With the acquisition of Alliance Boots, the company gained a pharmaceutical wholesale division, operating twice-daily deliveries to more than 16,500 delivery points in the UK alone. [20] Internationally, the Pharmaceutical Wholesale Division, which mainly operated under the Alliance Healthcare brand, supplied medicines, other healthcare products and related services to more than 115,000 pharmacies, doctors, health centers and hospitals each year from 306 distribution centers in 11 countries. [21]

In June 2021, the majority of the Alliance Healthcare wholesale division was sold to AmerisourceBergen for $6.28 billion (equivalent to $6.96 billion in 2023) [12] in cash. [22]

Finances

For the fiscal year 2020, Walgreens Boots Alliance reported earnings of US$456 million, with an annual revenue of US$139.5 billion, an increase of 2.5% over the previous fiscal cycle. Numbers before 2014 are for Walgreens only. [23] As of 2022, Walgreens Boots Alliance is ranked #18 on the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue. [6]

YearRevenue
in mil. USD		Net income
in mil. USD		Total Assets
in mil. USD		Price per Share
in USD		EmployeesStores
200542,2021,56014,60936.34179,0004,950
200647,4091,75117,13136.17195,0005,461
200753,7622,04119,31435.64226,0005,997
200859,0342,15722,41026.93237,0006,934
200963,3352,00625,14226.59238,0007,496
201067,4202,09126,27528.40244,0008,046
201172,1842,71427,45433.76247,0008,210
201271,6332,12733,46230.37240,0008,385
201372,2172,54835,48145.76248,0008,582
201476,3921,93237,25061.68251,0008,309
2015103,4444,22068,78280.08360,00012,755
2016117,3514,17372,68877.52360,00012,848
2017118,2144,07866,00976.94345,00012,822
2018131,5375,02468,12468.03354,00014,327
2019136,8663,98267,596 [24] 60.08 [25] 342,000 [24] 13,822 [24]
2020139,53745687,174 [24] 37.22 [25] 331,000 [24] 13,449 [24]
2021132,5092,54281,28552.16315,00012,996
2022132,7034,33790,12435.06325,00013,000
2023139,081−3,08096,628331,00013,532

Product brands

Boots produces a large number of brands, including No. 7, Soltan and Botanics, Boots Pharmaceuticals, and Boots Laboratories, that Alliance Boots and Walgreens sought to launch internationally following the first share purchase in 2012. [26]

Launched in 1935, the No. 7 brand is best known for its anti-aging beauty serums, developed in Nottingham, England. The range comprises products designed to target the aging concerns of specific age groups. [18] No. 7 became available in Walgreens and Duane Reade stores in the US from November 2012, beginning in Los Angeles.[ citation needed ]

Launched in 1939, Soltan markets its UVA 5-star suncare protection, a standard of protection developed by Boots and now adopted as the benchmark for suncare products in the UK.[ citation needed ] However, in both 2004 and 2015, Watchdog, a BBC consumer investigative TV program and cited on BBC News, plus the consumer Which? magazine, each did an investigation finding the SPF rating to be lower than stated on the packaging, according to their tests. [27] [28]

First launched in 1995, the Botanics range, developed in partnership with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, uses plant extracts in a variety of products and includes a range of organic products. The Boots Botanics range is also available through third party retailers.[ citation needed ]

The Boots own brand range of products includes skincare, medicines, healthcare products, and many more. Boots Laboratories skincare range for independent pharmacy customers was launched in France and Portugal in 2008/09 and is also sold in Spain, Italy, and Germany. [29]

Boots now owns Almus Pharmaceuticals, a brand of generic prescription drugs, launched in 2003. [30] It is now sold in five countries and is an umbrella brand for a wide range of lower cost generic medicines. Almus placed considerable emphasis on the design of the packaging in an attempt to reduce the number of errors by the dispensing chemist and by the patient relating to incorrect dosage which can result in either a dangerous accidental overdose or an equally dangerous under dose.[ citation needed ]

Walgreens has a self-branded line of products, "Well at Walgreens". [31]

In 2015, Walgreens Boots Alliance paid £140 million (equivalent to £179 million in 2023) [32] for UK skincare brand Liz Earle Naturally Active, an Avon Products subsidiary since 2010. [33] Liz Earle Beauty Co co-founder Liz Earle, 'one of the biggest names in the beauty industry' [34] stayed on as an 'ambassador' [35] after selling the company for an undisclosed sum [36] and told her own Liz Earle Wellbeing magazine's website that '...alongside my new digital and print publishing venture...at the moment I'm still connected to Liz Earle Beauty Co and continue to work as a consultant to the brand that carries my name. I'm involved in new product development...' [37] In 2012, Liz Earle announced that she had left the company. [38]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">CVS Pharmacy</span> American pharmacy chain

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alliance Healthcare</span> European health products distributor

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McKesson Europe

McKesson Europe AG, with its headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, is a leading international wholesale and retail company and provider of logistics and services in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors. The company had around 37,000 employees at the end of the 2019 financial year and is represented in 13 countries in Europe. In the 2019 financial year the company achieved a turnover of EUR 21.18 billion. The majority shareholder of the company is the US-based McKesson Corporation, which holds a share of 77.01%. The remaining 22.99% of shares are available on the open market. Kevin Kettler, a US citizen, has been Chairman of McKesson Europe since 1 November 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duane Reade</span> American pharmacy and convenience store chain

Duane Reade Inc. is a chain of pharmacy and convenience stores owned by Walgreens Boots Alliance. Its stores are primarily in New York and in New Jersey. They are known for high-volume, small store layouts in densely populated Manhattan locations. In 2012, the company headquarters was moved to 40 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, the location of its newest flagship store.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rite Aid</span> American drugstore chain

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alliance Boots</span> Pharmaceutical company

Alliance Boots was a multinational pharmacy-led health and beauty group with corporate headquarters in Bern, Switzerland and operational headquarters in Nottingham and Weybridge, United Kingdom.

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Gregory David Wasson is an American businessman. He is the co-founder and president of Wasson Enterprise, a family-based investment office, the executive chairman of Innventure, co-founder of CoolerScreens, and the former president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ornella Barra</span> Italian-born Monegasque businesswoman

Ornella Barra is an Italian-born Monegasque businesswoman. A qualified pharmacist, she is chief operating officer, international of Walgreens Boots Alliance. She is married to the Italian billionaire Stefano Pessina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yves Romestan</span> British businessman

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boots (company)</span> British multinational pharmacy store chain

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stefano Pessina</span> Italian billionaire businessman (born 1941)

Stefano Pessina is an Italian-Monegasque billionaire businessman; he is the executive chairman and largest single shareholder of Walgreens Boots Alliance.

BCM is part of Fareva, a subcontractor in the industrial and household, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals fields.

No7 is a beauty brand of anti-ageing creams, skincare and cosmetic products developed by Boots in the United Kingdom. The brand No7 was launched by Boots in 1935 as a selection of eleven skincare products and was expanded in 1937 with some colour cosmetics. Since its introduction, the brand has undergone eight redesigns. In 2007, Boots expanded the range to incorporate body products, foundation, creams and men's skincare.

References

  1. ↑ "Walgreens Boots Alliance Reports Fiscal Year 2023 Earnings". October 12, 2023.
  2. ↑ Sadin, S., Walgreens Boots Alliance, Chicago Tribune, published 16 April 2015, accessed 12 May 2023
  3. ↑ "Walgreens Boots Alliance, Form 8-K12B, Filing Date Dec 31, 2014". secdatabase.com. Archived from the original on May 12, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Walgreens Boots Alliance, Form 10-Q, Quarterly Report, Filing Date Dec 30, 2014". secdatabase.com. Archived from the original on May 12, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Walgreens Boots Alliance, Form S-4/A, Filing Date Nov 18, 2014". secdatabase.com. Archived from the original on May 12, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  6. 1 2 "Fortune 500". fortune.com. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Form 10-K" (PDF). October 13, 2022.
  8. ↑ Linnane, Ciara (December 31, 2014). "Walgreen ticker changes to WBA after merger with Boots Alliance". Market Watch. Archived from the original on December 31, 2014. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
  9. ↑ "GE Says Goodbye to the Dow". NASDAQ.com. June 20, 2018. Archived from the original on June 21, 2018. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  10. ↑ LaVito, Angelica (June 19, 2018). "GE booted from the Dow, to be replaced by Walgreens". CNBC. Archived from the original on October 28, 2019. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  11. ↑ "Retail Pharmacy USA". Walgreens Boots Alliance. Archived from the original on October 5, 2018. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Johnston, Louis; Williamson, Samuel H. (2023). "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth . Retrieved November 30, 2023. United States Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the MeasuringWorth series.
  13. ↑ Wattles, Jackie (October 27, 2015). "Walgreens buys Rite Aid in $17.2 billion deal". CNNMoney . Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  14. ↑ Terlep, Sharon; Kendall, Brent (June 29, 2017). "Walgreens, Rite Aid End $9.4 Billion Merger" . The Wall Street Journal . Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  15. ↑ Langreth, Robert; McLaughlin, David (September 19, 2017). "Walgreens Wins U.S. Approval for Rite Aid Deal on Fourth Try". Bloomberg News . Archived from the original on September 19, 2017. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
  16. ↑ Burris, Devan (August 4, 2024). "Why pharmacy chains like Walgreens and CVS are shuttering locations". CNBC .
  17. ↑ Hammet, Ellen (May 28, 2019). "Why Boots is getting a makeover: 'Brand love alone is not enough'". MarketingWeek.
  18. 1 2 McGiven, Sarah (August 15, 2012). "Weekend Shopping: Rediscovering High Street Beauty With Boots' No.7". Huffington Post . Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  19. 1 2 "Retail Pharmacy International". Walgreens Boots Alliance. January 6, 2020. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  20. ↑ "Alliance Healthcare celebrates 80th anniversary". Pharmacy Magazine. November 5, 2018. Archived from the original on November 16, 2023. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  21. ↑ "Pharmaceutical Wholesale". Walgreens Boots Alliance. October 26, 2020. Archived from the original on November 4, 2019. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  22. ↑ "AmerisourceBergen completes acquisition of Alliance Healthcare businesses". Alliance Healthcare. June 2, 2021. Archived from the original on November 16, 2023.
  23. ↑ "Walgreens Financial Statements 2005-2019 | WBA". Macrotrends. Archived from the original on May 17, 2019. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  24. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Walgreens Boots Alliance 2021 Annual Report (Form 10-K)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. October 14, 2021.
  25. 1 2 "WBA Stock Price | Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. Stock Quote (U.S.: Nasdaq) | MarketWatch". Archived from the original on November 13, 2019. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  26. ↑ "Walgreen Co, Form 10-K, Annual Report, Filing Date Oct 19, 2012". secdatabase.com. Archived from the original on May 12, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  27. ↑ "Tests cast doubt on sunscreens". Health. BBC News. July 1, 2004. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  28. ↑ "Sunscreen lotions failing protection tests, says Which?". BBC News. May 14, 2015. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  29. ↑ "Boots Laboratories". Alliance Boots. Archived from the original on October 7, 2012.[ self-published source ]
  30. ↑ "Almus reaches 10 year milestone in the UK". News. Alliance Healthcare. Archived from the original on April 1, 2017. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
  31. ↑ "Walgreens recalls bottles of women's multivitamins". Pharmaceutical Processing . Associated Press. June 12, 2015. Archived from the original on June 14, 2015. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  32. ↑ United Kingdom Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the MeasuringWorth "consistent series" supplied in Thomas, Ryland; Williamson, Samuel H. (2024). "What Was the U.K. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth . Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  33. ↑ "Liz Earle sells beauty business to Avon". Evening Standard . London. March 25, 2010. Archived from the original on July 2, 2018. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  34. ↑ "Jackie - the influence and impact of a First Lady, Women-led marches, Liz Earle, Anne the "forgotten" Bronte". Woman's Hour. January 17, 2017. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  35. ↑ "Our ambassadors". Liz Earle. Archived from the original on January 27, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  36. ↑ "Avon buys UK's Liz Earle Beauty in all cash deal". Reuters . March 25, 2010. Archived from the original on November 8, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  37. ↑ "Q&A with Liz". Liz Earle Wellbeing. Archived from the original on February 1, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  38. ↑ "Co-founder leaves Liz Earle". Isle of Wight County Press. April 27, 2012. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
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