Walgreen's Details.
Name of the company and its genesis
For 7 straight years, Walgreen’s has been named one of Fortune Magazine's "Most Admired Corporations In America."
Walgreen’s is celebrating its centennial. Walgreen Co. was founded in 1901 by Charles Walgreen. From a humble beginnings in 1901, they have grown to a $22 billion retailing network ranked fifth among all U.S. retailers.
Charles Walgreen, at the age of 16, had his first experience working in a drugstore. Working at Horton's Drugstore (for $4 a week) was a job he took only because of an accident that left him unable to take part in sports. While working in a local shoe factory, Walgreen accidentally cut off the top joint of his middle finger, ending his athletic competition. Were it not for the accident, Walgreen might never have become a pharmacist, business owner and phenomenally successful entrepreneur.
So he decided to start a drug store to provide medicines, so he founded a drugstore in 1901 in Chicago and measuring just 50 feet by 20 feet.
And now 100 years down the line they serve more than 2.6 million customers daily, averaging $6.4 million in annual sales per store, and they employ 141,000 individuals & fortune ranks them 3 rd in overall employee talent Even Though they are 101 year old 1/3 of their stores are less than 3 years old. Walgreen’s averages a new store opening every 17 hours and will operate over 6000 drugstores by the year 2010.
2)Nature of business
Walgreen’s goal has always been to be the nation's most convenient and most technologically advanced healthcare retailer.
At Walgreen’s, they have 100 years of experience and many resources that have helped to keep our operations running smoothly throughout this period of rapid growth. They have strong financial controls, a state-of-the-art pharmacy and workflow system, a highly efficient distribution operation and Intercom Plus, which links all of the Walgreen’s stores and is the most efficient system in the industry.
The Group's principal activity is to operate a chain of retail drugstores that sell prescription and nonprescription drugs. These drugstores also carry additional product lines like general merchandise, cosmetics, toiletries, household items, food and beverages. Customer prescription purchases can be made at the drugstores as well as through the mail, by telephone and on the Internet.
The Group markets its products under various trademarks and trade names and holds assorted business licenses (pharmacy, occupational, liquor etc.) having various lives. The Group currently operates 3,517 retail drugstores and 3 mail service facilities. The Group operates in 43 states within the continental United States and in Puerto Rico.