Walgreens, once a dominant force in the pharmacy industry, has faced significant challenges in recent years. The company’s history is marked by key milestones:
In 1901, Charles R. Walgreen Sr. purchased the Chicago drugstore where he worked, laying the foundation for the Walgreens chain. By 1909, a second store had opened, and by 1926, the 100th store was operational in Chicago. Walgreens’ stock went public in 1927.
The company reached $1 billion in sales by 1975 and opened its 1,000th store in Chicago in 1984. In 1999, Walgreens launched an online pharmacy, and by 2009, it had a presence in all 50 U.S. states with the opening of its first store in Alaska.
A major development came in 2014 when Walgreens merged with Alliance Boots to form Walgreens Boots Alliance. Partnerships with pharmacy benefit managers and insurers followed in 2016. However, a planned acquisition of Rite Aid fell through in 2017 due to antitrust issues, though Walgreens acquired nearly half of Rite Aid’s U.S. stores.
By 2018, weak retail sales led to significant stock losses, raising concerns about its strategy. In 2019, Walgreens explored going private, engaging in discussions with private equity firms.
In 2022, Walgreens began a strategic review of its U.K.-based Boots business. The following year, in October 2023, Tim Wentworth was appointed CEO to rejuvenate the company’s declining stock and profits. As part of ongoing efforts, Walgreens targeted $1 billion in cost-cutting measures for 2024, including closing unprofitable stores.
In January 2024, Walgreens nearly halved its dividend payout to conserve cash amid low consumer spending and fierce competition, resulting in a loss of over $2 billion in market capitalization. By December, reports emerged that Walgreens was in talks to be sold to private equity firm Sycamore Partners.
In March 2025, Walgreens finalized a deal to be taken private by Sycamore for $10 billion.
— news from Reuters