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News
Walgreens turns back to booze
American pharmacy chain Walgreens is going to start selling alcohol again, nearly a decade after making its shelves dry.
The largest pharmacy in the US is re-listing beer and wine in an effort to return to profit growth.
As beer and wine return to its shelves over the course of the next 12 to 18 months, the store hopes the decision to re-list alcohol will draw more customers in even though the selling of alcohol will not have as great an emphasis as it used to – this time alcohol is expected to take up less than 1% of shelf space.
Alcohol on sale will include mainstream beer and micro brews while 12 feet of shelf space will be dedicated to wine.
In January this year, Walgreens appointed a new CEO, Gregory Wasson, who told the Chicago Tribune that the 108-year old company was going through one of the most important strategic and operational transformations in the company’s history.
In June of this year, the pharmacy applied for a local government licence to reintroduce beer and wine into its 7,000 stores.
Walgreens took alcohol off its shelves in the 1990s following a reported drop in sales. In 2000, Drug Store News reported that the company was once the largest liquor retailer in the US.
Jane Parkinson, 05.10.2009