Walgreens is Making Another Purchase From LaFrance Holdings To Include USA Drug, Super D Drug and May’s Drug Stores Located in the US Southeast

Sales are down so buy some more drug stores?  It certainly seems like this is what we are seeing out there.  If we go back to the split with Express Scripts and the loss of revenue in prescriptions there, well that might shed some light on the size of the loss of revenue and maybe it’s bigger than anyone thought. 

Anthem Blue Cross Members Will No Longer Be Able to Fill Prescriptions at Walgreens After January 1, 2012

Just a few weeks ago they bought into Boots in the UK with an option to completely own the chain in a few years too. 

 

Walgreens to Invest in Alliance Boots Drug Chain in Europe With Option to Buy in Full in 3 Years

Along with the purchases comes another source of profit and that is more data potentially for sale which is becoming almost like oil these days and companies are making billions.  On their 2010 SEC statement, Walgreens made just short of $800 million, selling data alone, so when you add up all these acquisitions, just think of how much data for sale they might be getting access too and what additional dollars that could mean.  I keep saying we need to tax banks, companies, etc. that make billions of dollars from selling data as it has behind the scenes crept in to where it “is” part of doing business today. 

Walgreens And CVS Accused of Selling Customer Prescription Data in 2 Separate Law Suits-Sales for Marketing Data Continues and the Data Bases Gets Larger with Technology

They are spending $438 million on this purchase.  The store has also been busy getting liquor licenses in the last year in stores where they have not sold it before to add to the number of products they carry. 

Walgreens Applying For and Getting Liquor Licenses Across the US – Be Healthy and Get Your Alcohol Here Too

In addition to all of the above, they are also expanding their efforts into social networking to send ads to your cell phone to for promotional sales and there were several news items in the last year speculating on whether or not the drug stores will start selling insurance too.  Back a couple years ago they announced that they were working with Orbitz travel services too so that those booking travel through the company could also get coupons for discounts at the store, in other words promoting “travel healthy”. 

Walgreens Using Social Networks to Send Ads To Mobile Phones for Promotional Sale Items When You Check In at the Store –Will Sperm Check Make the List?

In view of all of the above, one certainly can gather the impression that profits may not specifically be found in selling prescriptions, but rather in all the other entities that are combined efforts with what we are seeing out there with acquisitions and promotions.  BD

---

Walgreen also said Thursday it will spend about $438 million to buy a 144-store chain focused on the mid-South from the privately held Stephen L. LaFrance Holdings Inc., which is based in Little Rock, Ark.

Stores in the chain include USA Drug, Super D Drug and May's Drug. They are located in Arkansas, Kansas, Mississippi and Missouri, among other states.

http://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2012/07/05/walgreen-plans-new-acquisition-june-sales-fall