Walgreens sales climb
DEERFIELD — Walgreen Corp. said today it had October sales of $5.85 billion, an increase of 3.7 percent from $5.64 billion for the same month in 2009. Duane Reade stores, acquired in April 2010, contributed 2.8 percentage points to the total sales increase for the month.
Sales in comparable stores (those open at least a year) decreased 1.3 percent. The effect of calendar day shifts negatively impacted total comparable sales by 1.0 percentage point. Duane Reade stores are not included in any comparable store results.
October pharmacy sales increased 2.5 percent, while comparable pharmacy sales decreased 1.6 percent. The effect of calendar day shifts negatively impacted comparable pharmacy sales by 1.6 percentage points. Comparable pharmacy sales were negatively impacted by 3.0 percentage points due to generic drug introductions in the last 12 months and by 2.1 percentage points due to lower incidence of cough, cold and flu. Comparable pharmacy sales were positively impacted by 0.4 percentage point due to more flu shots provided by the company. Pharmacy sales accounted for 65.2 percent of total sales for the month.
Prescriptions filled at comparable stores decreased 0.2 percent in October, including 1.4 percentage points due to more patients filling 90-day prescriptions. Calendar day shifts negatively impacted prescriptions filled in comparable stores by 1.6 percentage points, while the lower incidence of flu negatively impacted comparable prescriptions filled by 2.5 percentage points. Prescriptions filled at comparable stores were positively impacted by 0.5 percentage point due to more flu shots.
Flu shots administered at pharmacies and clinics during October totaled more than 2.2 million, with more than 4.5 million flu shots having been administered season-to-date.
“We have provided nearly as many seasonal flu shots this year as we did during all of last year's flu season, despite significantly less flu virus circulating across the country,” said Kermit Crawford, Walgreens president of pharmacy services. “With ample supply of flu vaccine available and the typical peak of the flu season still several months away, now is the time for consumers to protect themselves, their families and their friends against the flu before the busy holiday season starts. And we've made it easier than ever to get immunized by offering flu shots at every Walgreens, every day with no appointment necessary.”
Total front-end sales increased 6.3 percent in October, including 4.8 percentage points from Duane Reade. Comparable store front-end sales decreased 0.8 percent. Customer traffic in comparable stores decreased 1.4 percent, while basket size increased 0.6 percent.
Calendar year-to-date sales were $56.22 billion, an increase of 5.5 percent from $53.27 billion in 2009.
Fiscal 2011 year-to-date sales for the first two months were $11.5 billion, up 4.5 percent from $11.0 billion.
Walgreens opened 36 stores during October, including six relocations, and closed two.
At Oct. 31, Walgreens operated 8,092 locations in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. That includes 7,608 drugstores, 503 more than a year ago, including 284 stores acquired over the last 12 months. The company also operates worksite health centers, home care facilities and specialty, institutional and mail service pharmacies.