Senior Advisor, Sycamore Partners
Walgreens Opens Flagship Drugstore in Iconic Wrigley Building
DEERFIELD, Ill., June 24, 2014 – Walgreens (NYSE: WAG) (Nasdaq: WAG) will celebrate the opening of a new two-story, flagship drugstore in the north tower of Chicago’s iconic Wrigley Building on Wednesday, June 25.
Assisted by 42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly, representatives from the Magnificent Mile Association, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and others, Walgreens executives will mark the 27,800-square-foot store’s opening with a ceremonial ribbon cutting at 9 a.m. tomorrow.
The location at 410 N. Michigan Ave. in the landmark building is the company’s 14th flagship store, and the third in Chicago. A unique design, the store’s gradient color pattern and indirect lighting features complement the building’s exterior. A mosaic floor motif of the building’s famous clock welcomes customers as they enter off of Michigan Avenue.
“We are very excited to open a Walgreens flagship store in the Wrigley Building, bringing together two iconic names in Chicago business,” said Mark Wagner, Walgreens president of operations and community management. “The store will serve as a destination for health and daily living that offers our customers an exceptional experience.”
“I want to congratulate Walgreens for opening yet another flagship destination store here in downtown Chicago’s 42nd Ward,” said Ald. Reilly. “The City of Chicago recently designated the Wrigley Building as a Chicago Landmark and this iconic structure has just undergone an exciting redevelopment that features Walgreens as an anchor retailer on Michigan Avenue. On behalf of the City Council, I want to thank Walgreens for continuing to bring investment and jobs to Chicago. By marrying two of Chicago’s iconic brands –Walgreens and Wrigley – under one landmark roof, I know this store will enjoy great success here, on Michigan Avenue.”
The store follows Walgreens Well Experience format in which every aspect of the store focuses on the idea of “well.” The first floor of the store features an Upmarket Café, including a made-to-order juice, smoothie and milkshake bar; made-fresh daily hand-rolled sushi and sashimi; a large selection of produce; and high-quality, on-the-go meal options such as wraps, soup, sandwiches and salads. Customers also can enjoy a self-serve frozen yogurt and Icee station.
The store also features a walk-in cooler with a wide selection of craft beers and a large selection of wines complemented by an assortment of cheese and crackers. The pink glow of the LOOK Boutique greets patrons on the second floor, offering an expanded selection of skincare, hair care and cosmetics including products from Boots No7. Shoppers can even take in a 180-degree view of the Magnificent Mile while perusing the selection of Chicago souvenirs.
Central to the store is the pharmacy, where the pharmacist is made accessible to provide more counseling and services to patients by working in front of the pharmacy counter to foster pharmacist-patient relationships. The pharmacy features an Express Rx pickup kiosk to allow customers to quickly pick up and pay for their refill prescriptions and a private health room for counseling and services including immunizations and health tests. The store also offers a Healthcare Clinic, staffed by board certified family nurse practitioners - no appointment necessary.
Chicago based firm Camburas & Theodore LTD provided the design and lighting of the store’s interior.
As Walgreens developed its Well Experience stores to step out of the traditional drugstore format, the company has collaborated with Jackman Reinvention on in-store branding.
“Working with the Walgreens team to help transform their traditional drugstores into retail destinations has been a truly remarkable experience,” said Joe Jackman, CEO of Jackman Reinvention. “The Wrigley Building flagship store is the latest example of the Walgreens vision of making it easy for customers to get, stay and live well.”
The store also features Web Pickup, which allows customers to shop online at Walgreens.com and pick up their order at the store. The store will be open from 6:30 a.m. to midnight weekdays and 8 a.m. to midnight on weekends; pharmacy hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends. The Healthcare Clinic will be open weekdays 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekends.
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 for 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 8,217 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 and in-store convenient care clinics, with more than 750 locations throughout the country.
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