Walgreens 2005 Annual Report Download - page 19

The mayor of Wilmington, North Carolina,
Spence Broadhurst, understands the importance
of drawing businesses like Walgreens to his community
of 94,000. “You provide what our town needs,” he
says. “For example, your 24-hour service is a welcome
convenience for people working at our regional
hospital day and night.”
Walgreens also helped Wilmington in September
when Hurricane Ophelia knocked down trees and
electrical power lines. We were the first retailer opened
and staffed after the storm passed. “That kind of
response was a tremendous asset to residents, who
had been held up in their homes without power
for a day,” says Broadhurst.
About 70 percent of our store growth in the next
five years will be concentrated in newer markets
Walgreens now has a foothold in every major
U.S. market including the Washington, D.C.,
metropolitan area, where we currently have one
store and 14 approved sites. To keep our store
count climbing to 7,000 by 2010, we are densing
up established markets, growing in new markets
and expanding into smaller towns.
“We serve 45 states today,” says Bill Shiel, senior
vice president of Facilities Development. “We added
Montana in 2005, will open West Virginia in 2006
and are seeking sites in other new areas.”
Today, we operate stores within two miles of
125 million Americans. Research tells us we can do
more, especially in newer markets such as Dallas/Fort
Worth. We opened our first location there in 1996, and
now have 136 stores and
the No. 1 market share.
We have a long
history of commitment
to urban and suburban
communities, but in
2005 we also opened
nearly 100 stores in
small towns – at least
smaller than what
was once considered
an optimal Walgreen
market. New mapping
tools have helped us
identify locations that
we once passed over.
To grow in small towns, we’ve
had to modify our definition
of convenient. In rural areas,
“convenient” might be 15 miles
down the highway, but next to
the grocery store. In urban areas,
it’s often just one or two blocks
from home.
Mayor Spence Broadhurst is one of Walgreens biggest
champions as we expand in Wilmington, North Carolina.
2005 Annual Report 17
Customer Rachel Parrott
in Glenview, Illinois, browses
our beauty aisles for hot new
cosmetic, fragrance and skin
care items. Our stores are a
destination for women looking
for quality products with
department-store prestige
at reasonable prices.
2005 1995
Total stores 4,953 2,085
Freestanding stores 4,160 639
24-hour stores 1,534 321
1-hour photo stores 4,880 162
Drive-thru pharmacies 4,085 441
2005 2001
Alabama 46 16
Carolinas 117 16
Georgia 96 30
Southern California 166 79
Utah 24 4
Young Markets Offer Room to Grow
Number of Stores
Ten Years of Growth
Number of Stores