Walgreens Debuts New York City Flagship Store In Union Square

NEW YORK, Jan. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Walgreens (NYSE: WAG) (Nasdaq: WAG) announced today the official grand re-opening of its newest 24/7 flagship store, located in Union Square, Manhattan. The store, which will open at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 23, features an innovative health and daily living offering unexpected from a typical drugstore. Walgreens opened in the historic Union Square area in 2001 and has now renovated the store to to feature its new Well Experience format.

"Walgreens is thrilled to provide customers our newest New York flagship location - unlike any traditional drugstore – in Manhattan's historic Union Square," said Skip Bourdo, Walgreens market vice president. "This location has been transformed to become customers' first choice for health and daily living, and we look forward to continuing to help the residents and visitors of the Union Square neighborhood get, stay and live well."

The store's expanded features include:

• Walgreens new Well Experience format, offering new products, services and solutions delivered in unique and innovative ways and customized for the local community.
• An advanced printing and photo lab providing expanded printing capabilities for creative projects that include a full photo lab processing 35mm film, posters, banners, photo books, folded cards and calendars – all available in one hour.
• New, Upmarket consumable offerings providing an ultra-fresh selection of professional chef-rolled sushi, sandwiches, wraps and ready-to-eat cut fruits and vegetables; all offering a healthier solution to typical fast food choices. Walgreens core food categories also include a wider range of frozen foods and entrees as well as expanded deli dairy items to round out a more complete range of options.
• A new checkout format for customers offering greater access to the main registers and arranged in a way that will guide customers through easily, making for an overall quicker checkout.
• Web Pickup, which allows customers to access the entire store's online item assortment and pickup purchases in-store. Once an order is picked, the customer will receive an email and/or text message notifying them that the order is ready for pickup.
• An expanded beauty and personal care section creating a best-in-class destination shopping experience for categories including skincare, color cosmetics, hair care, dental, grooming and baby.

Bourdo will kick off an official ribbon cutting ceremony on Jan. 23 at 10 a.m. Other Walgreens executives in attendance will include: Leslie Higgins, market pharmacy director; Ladonna Candia-Flanagan, market loss prevention director; and Janice Francis, human resource and talent manager.

About Walgreens
As the nation's largest drugstore chain with fiscal 2013 sales of $72 billion, Walgreens (www.walgreens.com) vision is to be the first choice in health and daily living for everyone in America, and beyond. Each day, Walgreens provides more than 6 million customers the most convenient, multichannel access to consumer goods and services and trusted, cost-effective pharmacy, health and wellness services and advice in communities across America. Walgreens scope of pharmacy services includes retail, specialty, infusion, medical facility and mail service, along with respiratory services. These services improve health outcomes and lower costs for payers including employers, managed care organizations, health systems, pharmacy benefit managers and the public sector. The company operates 8,200 drugstores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Take Care Health Systems is a Walgreens subsidiary that is the largest and most comprehensive manager of worksite health and wellness centers, provider practices, and in-store convenient care clinics, with more than 750 locations throughout the country.

SOURCE Walgreens