Walgreens Transforms in Indy - CSPnet.com

DEERFIELD, Ill. -- Former Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy joined Walgreens president and CEO Greg Wasson, Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) and community leaders in a ribbon-cutting ceremony yesterday celebrating the grand reopening of Walgreens newly renovated stores in the Indianapolis market.

Indianapolis is Walgreens market-wide, pilot transformation of the traditional drug store into a health and daily living store concept.

(See Related Content below for a video visit by CSP editor Angel Abcede to the new Walgreens flagship store in downtown Chicago.)

Each of the 68 Walgreens stores in the Indianapolis area, which employ more than 2,200 people, has been redesigned around customers' needs and include combinations of the following innovations:

• A pharmacist located in front of the pharmacy, offering a greater opportunity for patient consultation and health care services such as vaccinations and health testing.
• A new Walgreens staff member called a Health Guide, equipped with an iPad and available to answer product and service questions, helps customers navigate the store and their health care options and sign up for events. Select stores also have a Health Corner space to host individual or group health and wellness community events.
• Fresh food, including fruits and vegetables, meats, prepared salads, sandwiches, wraps, take-and-bake pizzas and other on-the-go meal options.
• An enhanced beauty department display, including one store with a Look Boutique featuring dozens of prestige and niche cosmetic, skincare and hair care brands not typically found in drug stores.

As part of this pilot program over the past year, Walgreens first opened 20 stores in the Chicago area with the new health and daily living format.

"The response we've received from our customers been extraordinarily positive, and we're excited to bring this new customer experience to Indianapolis," Wasson said.

Walgreens is the nation's largest drugstore chain with fiscal 2011 sales of $72 billion. The company operates 7,818 drugstores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.