Walgreens 2014 Annual Report Download - page 3

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Dear Stockholders
This was an historic and pivotal period for two
iconic companies—Walgreens and Alliance Boots
—as we completed our strategic combination
to establish Walgreens Boots Alliance on 31
December 2014, forging a new company, the
world’s first global, pharmacy-led health and
wellbeing enterprise. As our two companies
continue to build on legacies that each span
more than a century, we are even more excited
about our joint future together thanks to the
significant opportunity for our new company
to benefit all stakeholders and revolutionize
our industry.
We believe the new global enterprise created
by the Walgreens Boots Alliance strategic
combination is unique, unprecedented and
unrivaled in important respects in the
global marketplace.
It is unique in that our new enterprise combines
complementary geographies, wholesale and
retail business, global scale with local roots,
and an outstanding blend of business-to-con-
sumer and business-to-business brands. It is
unprecedented in that, through this industry
“first,” we will have opportunities to achieve
many other firsts that promise to advance the
health and wellbeing of people around the
world. Our new enterprise is also unrivaled
given our scale, size and reach, spanning over
25 countries, employing more than 370,000
people, providing health and wellbeing products
through 12,800 health and beauty stores, and
delivering to clients from 340 distribution
centers (as at 30 November 2014 including equity
method investments). Add to this our outstanding
service and product brand portfolio and it is clear
that our new enterprise is positioned at the
forefront of our industry.
This equips us well to truly become a global
healthcare champion helping people across
the world lead healthier and happier lives.
A shared heritage and greater future
What also makes Walgreens Boots Alliance
unrivaled is our convergence of three great
success stories—Walgreens, Boots and
Alliance Healthcare.
The Walgreens story began through the vision and
mission of Charles Walgreen Sr., who opened a
single corner drugstore in Chicago in 1901 with the
purpose of making healthcare more accessible for
his community. Similarly for Boots, the story began
with John Boot, who founded his business in
Nottingham, England in 1849. For Alliance Health-
care, most of our wholesale businesses started in
the 19th century in France, The Netherlands and
Germany, and in the U.K. and Spain in the first half
of the 20th century. All our businesses share deep
roots in the history and evolution of healthcare.
Beyond our origins, Walgreens Boots Alliance
is also the result of contemporary achievements.
Through the two-step strategic combination
we launched in June 2012 and completed in
December 2014, our gradual coming together
has enabled our companies to learn more about
James A. Skinner (right)
Executive Chairman
Walgreens Boots
Alliance, Inc. and
Stefano Pessina
Executive Vice
Chairman and Acting
Chief Executive Officer
Walgreens Boots
Alliance, Inc.
“ A new enterprise, a new era, a new opportunity”