Walgreens Boots Alliance
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]
Company type
- Nasdaq: WBA
- Nasdaq-100 component
- S&P 500 component
December 31, 2014
13,532 (2023)
Worldwide
US$139.1 billion (2023)
−US$6.88 billion (2023)
−US$3.08 billion (2023)
US$96.63 billion (2023)
US$28.32 billion (2023)
Stefano Pessina (16%)
c. 331,000 (August 2023)
- Retail Pharmacy U.S.
- Retail Pharmacy International
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 on December 31, 2014, under the symbol WBA.[8] On June 26, 2018, Walgreens Boots Alliance replaced General Electric on the Dow Jones Industrial Index.[9][10] The company is also a component of the Nasdaq-100 and the S&P 500 indices.
Product brands[edit]
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.[24]
Launched in 1935, the No. 7 brand is best known for its anti-aging beauty serums, developed in Nottingham. The range comprises products designed to target the aging concerns of specific age groups.[16] No. 7 became available in Walgreens and Duane Reade stores in the US from November 2012, beginning in Los Angeles.
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. 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.[25][26][27]
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.
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.[28]
Boots now owns Almus Pharmaceuticals, a brand of generic prescription drugs, launched in 2003.[29] 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.
Walgreens has a self-branded line of products, "Well at Walgreens".[30]
In 2015, Walgreens Boots Alliance paid £140 million (about $250 million) for UK skincare brand Liz Earle Naturally Active, an Avon Products subsidiary since 2010.[31] Liz Earle Beauty Co co-founder Liz Earle, 'one of the biggest names in the beauty industry'[32] stayed on as an 'ambassador'[33] after selling the company for an undisclosed sum[34] 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...'[35] In 2012, Liz Earle announced that she had left the company.[36]
