Walgreen Blames the Weather
By George Anderson
The good news for Walgreens is its sales and profits were up in the third quarter.
The not so quite good news is the company was hoping for better.
The chain said sales of front-end items were off, in part, because unusually
cool and wet weather in many parts of the country has slowed sales of many spring
and summer items.
Derek Leckow, analyst, Barrington Research told Reuters a slow economy
remains the primary factor for Walgreens’ performance. “I really think it’s
just the overall environment is softer, people are spending less money, so that’s
affecting their front-of-store performance.”
Moderator’s Comment: What challenges/opportunities
do you see for Walgreens as it continues to open new stores? What role will
non-pharmacy items play in helping the chain achieve its strategic goals?
As often happens on Wall Street, Walgreens’ share price
fell yesterday, even though sales and profits were up across the company and
on a store basis. The news just wasn’t good enough to meet expectations.
[George
Anderson – Moderator]