Walgreens Q1 2016 Sales Hit $29B
In Walgreens Boots Alliance's (WBA) first quarter of 2016 net sales were $29 billion, up 48.5% on the same quarter a year ago, largely due to the inclusion of Alliance Boots. Of course, these results are not directly comparable with first-quarter of fiscal 2015 due to the Alliance Boots transaction in December 2014 and the resulting changes in segmental reporting.
However, WBA believes that its fundamental shift towards health and beauty is resonating with the company's customers and is an important point of differentiation.
"Having conducted pilots in over 400 stores, we're excited for the positive results we have seen, particularly for No7 and Soap & Glory," noted George Fairweather, EVP and Global Chief Financial Officer. WBA is expanding its differentiated beauty offering to approximately 2,000 stores with the rollout planned to begin in summer 2016.
"Like all other retailers, we have also seen an acceleration in the US in customers moving towards omnichannel retail, with online shopping working in parallel and integrated with the physical store," said Stefano Pessina, Executive Vice Chairman and CEO. "This is a trend we have seen in many of our markets, most particularly in the UK, where we have adapted our model to embrace this trend. We must now decide how to deploy our success and experience to maximize the opportunities which this trend presents worldwide."
According to WBA, Boots is well established in the UK with an enormously loyal customer base, yet for the first time in many years they're starting to grow customer base in Boots UK using an omnichannel strategy. Now Boots is using the new technologies customers are engaging with both in the UK and the US.
However, WBA believes that its fundamental shift towards health and beauty is resonating with the company's customers and is an important point of differentiation.
"Having conducted pilots in over 400 stores, we're excited for the positive results we have seen, particularly for No7 and Soap & Glory," noted George Fairweather, EVP and Global Chief Financial Officer. WBA is expanding its differentiated beauty offering to approximately 2,000 stores with the rollout planned to begin in summer 2016.
"Like all other retailers, we have also seen an acceleration in the US in customers moving towards omnichannel retail, with online shopping working in parallel and integrated with the physical store," said Stefano Pessina, Executive Vice Chairman and CEO. "This is a trend we have seen in many of our markets, most particularly in the UK, where we have adapted our model to embrace this trend. We must now decide how to deploy our success and experience to maximize the opportunities which this trend presents worldwide."
According to WBA, Boots is well established in the UK with an enormously loyal customer base, yet for the first time in many years they're starting to grow customer base in Boots UK using an omnichannel strategy. Now Boots is using the new technologies customers are engaging with both in the UK and the US.