Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc

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Walgreens Boots Alliance is an American holding company for the manufacture and distribution of pharmaceutical products in 25+ countries: the USA (74.8%), the UK (10.1%), Europe (13.4%) and Other (1.7%).ref

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc is organised into 2 divisions:[Aug.2018]

  • 84.1%: Retail distribution: selling prescription drugs, OTC medicines, beauty and cosmetic products, etc, through 14,327 outlets and the Internet. Banners are:
    • Walgreens and Duane Reade (USA);
    • Boots (Europe and Asia);
  • 15.9%: Wholesale distribution: operated through 390+ centres, with 230,000+ drugstores, physicians, health centres and hospitals.
    • Pharmaceutical Wholesale;
    • International Retail, which includes Alliance Healthcare, and Global Brands.

Brands

ToDo: AR-2018

Company

Shareholders

Total float: 59.0%
Source: MarketScreener.svg, Mar.2020

Corporate Grouping

  • Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc, OC, reg. Delaware Flag-Delaware.svg
    • Walgreen International Sarl, OC, reg. Luxembourg, Flag-Luxembourg.svg
      • Superior Holdings Ltd, CH
        • WBA Acquisitions UK Topco Ltd, CH
          • Walgreens Boots Alliance Ltd, CH
            • WBA International Ltd, CH
              • Superior Acquisitions Ltd, CH
                • WBA Acquisitions UK Holdco 7 Ltd, CH
                  • Alliance Boots Holdings Ltd, CH
                    • Boots UK Ltd, CH

  • Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Stefano Pessina
    • AB Acquisitions Holdings Ltd, inc. 2008, OpenCorporates-sm.svg, reg. Gibraltar Flag-Gibraltar.svg
      • Alliance Boots GmbH, OpenCorporates-sm.svg, reg. Switzerland Flag-Switzerland.svg

Timelines

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc

The company was listed on the Nasdaq exchange in the USA. Boots is poised to return to the London Stock Exchange as part of an attempt to increase Walgreens’ European shareholder base. The move would most likely be enacted via a secondary listing in London.

  • July 2020: Jobs: the group announced that it would be cutting 4,000 jobs and shutting 48 optician stores in the UK.ref
  • May 2019: Jobs: Boots announced that it was closing 200+ underperforming shops.ref,ref
  • Mar.2018: The Boots Company plc: The Boots Company Ltd re-registered as a public limited company.OpenCorporates-sm.svg
  • Mar.2018: The Boots Company Ltd: The Boots Company plc re-registered as a private limited company.OpenCorporates-sm.svg
  • Feb.2018: Profiteering: Boots was caught charging sky-high prices for cheap NHS products: for example, it charged £1,500+ for a moisturiser which normally sold at less than £2.ref
    In May.2018, an investigation by The Times discovered that Boots had charged £3,200+ for a medicinal mouthwash used to treat mouth ulcers in chemotherapy patients, compared with an independent supplier's charge of £93. Again, a Walgreens Boots Alliance spokesman rejected the accusations, interleaved with word salad.ref,ref
  • Dec.2017: Sinopharm Holding Guoda Drugstores Co. Ltd: WBA agreed with China National Accord Medicines Corporation Ltd to take a 40% stake in its subsidiary, a retail pharmacy chain in China.ref
  • Jul.2017: Profiteering: the British Pregnancy Advisory Service revealed that Boots was selling emergency contraceptive pills at 4x the cost price, and had refused requests to join with rival pharmacy retail chains, including Superdrug and Tesco, which had agreed to cease profiting financially in this way.ref Boots responded with "Word Salad",ref,ref,ref and refused to play nicely. BPAS launched a campaign to boycott Boots until they reversed their profiteering policy.ref
    In Nov.2017, 130+ Labour politicians signed a letter criticising Boots' failure to fulfil its promise to stock a low-cost alternative in its shops by Oct.ref In Jan.2018, Boots finally offered the cheaper price.ref
  • Apr.2016: Letterbox HQ: Richard Brooks, a former tax inspector, found that the Zug “headquarters” was “one of ~50 unrelated companies dealt with by a local business service company, the proprietors of which were none too pleased with the visit” and that no Boots employees were present.ref
  • Dec.2014: Walgreens Boots Alliance: Walgreen exercised its purchase option and, following shareholder and regulatory approvals, the two businesses merged.ref The combined company had 12,000+ stores worldwide.ref
  • Sept.2014: Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc,OpenCorporates-sm.svg a new holdco, was set up to hold the two companies, headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois.ref

Alliance Boots GmbH

Boots-2019.svg
Alliance Boots was a multinational health and beauty retailer and pharmacy chain, with operations in retail and manufacturing in the UK, Europe and Asia, mostly conducted under the Boots and Alliance Healthcare brands. Its products are sold in 17 countries through ~1,500 health and beauty stores; a wide range are sold under the “Boots” brand, as well as a number of UK market-leading brands such as “No 7” and “Soltan”. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange as "Alliance Boots plc". Its corporate headquarters were in Bern, Switzerland, and operational headquarters in Nottingham and Weybridge, UK. Boots UKWikipedia-W.svg, Boots UK

Under Mr Pessina, Alliance Boots made more than 1,500 acquisitions between 2001-x.


  • Oct.2013: campaign group War on Want said their "research shows that Alliance Boots has avoided more than £1bn in tax since it went private six years ago through taking on excessive debts, profit shifting and corporate restructuring."ref
  • Aug.2012: #Walgreen Company bought a 45% stake in Alliance Boots GmbH, as part of a three-year plan to merge the two businesses, with an option to acquire the remaining shares within three years.ref,ref
  • Jul.2011: Ireland's National Consumer Agency found Boots to be the most expensive pharmacy for prescription drugs.ref
  • Jan.2011: Protests were held by UK Uncut at a number of Boots stores, including its flagship London store, which was closed down by protestors.ref
  • 2010: Boots Pharmaceuticals was launched.
  • 2009: BootsWebMD.com was launched, offering customers a health and wellness information portal.
  • 2009: Boots Opticians: Dollond & Aitchison was acquired and merged into Boots Opticians, forming the 2nd-largest optical chain in the UK.
  • 2008: Alliance Boots GmbH was established in Switzerland, as a direct subsidiary of AB Acquisitions Holdings Ltd, which held all shares in the company. Alliance Boots was accused of making the move for tax purposes,ref
  • Oct.2007: Boots UK Ltd: Boots the Chemist Ltd changed its name.OpenCorporates-sm.svg
  • Jun.2007: Suspension of listing and dealings in Alliance Boots Shares on the London Stock Exchange.ref
  • Apr.2007: Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, an American private equity firm, and Stefano PessinaWikipedia-W.svg, Alliance Boots' executive deputy chairman, bought out Alliance Boots GmbH via their acquisition vehicle AB Acquisitions Ltd.OpenCorporates-sm.svg ref It was delisted and taken private,ref and its headquarters was relocated to Switzerland.
  • Jul.2006: Alliance Boots plc: The Boots Company plc merged with Alliance UniChem.refref [2]
  • Feb.2006: Alliance Boots GmbH was formed by the merger of Boots and Alliance UniChem (a pan-European wholesale and retail pharmacy group), after approval from the Office of Fair Trading was received. The OFT required 96 shops to be sold as a condition.ref The transaction completed in Aug.2006. Former Boots Group shareholders held 50.2%, with former Alliance UniChem shareholders owning 49.8%.ref

Boots UK Ltd / Boots Group plc / Boots the Chemists

  • Jul.2006: Alliance Boots plc Boots Group merged with Alliance Unichem.ref
  • Oct.2005: A merger with Alliance UniChem was announced.
  • Oct.2005: Boots Healthcare International, the over-the-counter medicines unit, was sold to Reckitt Benckiser.ref The deal included the Nurofen brand;ref Strepsils, the biggest-selling sore throat brand in the world; and Clearasil, the most popular brand of anti-acne treatment worldwide; and everything made by Crookes Healthcare Ltd, based on the Nottingham site.ref
  • ?date? Property: finalised the £298 million sale and leaseback of a group of 315 smaller stores.ref
  • 2004-2005: Jobs: 1,500 head-office redundancies.
  • late.2004: Dental Clinic: Laser eye surgery and dentistry businesses were sold to DCM (Optical Holdings) Ltd, t/a Optical Express.ref ref,ref
  • 1998: Hayes Conyngham Robinsonan Irish chain, was acquired.ref.
  • ?date?: Boots ventured into "Wellbeing" services, offering customers treatments ranging from facials, homoeopathy, and nutritional advice to laser eye surgery and Botox. However, these services were abandoned in 2003, despite a launch that included a dedicated Freeview and Sky TV channel of the same name, and even redirecting web traffic from boots.com to wellbeing.com.ref
  • 1998: Do-It-All, the home furnishings chain, was sold to Focus.ref
  • 1998: Boots diversified into dentistry, with a number of shops offering this service.ref
  • Aug.1997: AG Stanley, the loss-making home decorating business with 356 stores, was sold to venture capital firm Alchemy Partners. The sale included the Fads and Homestyle trading formats. AG Stanley was purchased as part of Boots' disastrous Ward White Group plc acquisition in Jul.1989.ref
  • Dec.1995: x Croda International's cosmetic and toiletries manufacturing businesses in France and Germany were acquired. The deal enabled Boots Contract Manufacturing to accelerate its expansion in Europe.
  • 1995: Boots Pharmaceuticals, the prescription drugs division which had become no longer viable, was sold to BASF.ref,ref
  • 1993: Manoplax was withdrawn from the market due to safety concerns, which caused shareholders to exert major pressure.
  • 1991: Halfords, the bicycle and car parts business, was acquired.ref Halfords was sold in 2002.ref
  • Aug.1990: Do It All: Payless DIY and WH Smith's Do It All were merged in a joint venture with WH Smith.[AR-Mar.1991]
  • 1990: Boots Contract Manufacturing and Boots International were established.
  • 1987: Boots Opticians was formed, becoming the UK’s 2nd-largest optical retail chain. The first free-standing Boots Opticians practice opened in Sept.1987, in Durham.
  • ?date?: acquired Clement Clarke and Curry and Paxton Ltd (opticians).
  • 1984: Boots (Retail Buying) Hong Kong Ltd established.
  • 1983: Boots Opticians: Boots trialled the first optical in-store practice in Nottingham, and followed it with six further practices the following year. By Mar.1986, the total had risen to 68.
  • Mar.1982: The Boots Company plc: The Boots Company Ltd re-registered as a public limited company.OpenCorporates-sm.svg
  • 1982: Boots opened a new manufacturing plant in Cramlington, Northumberland.ref
  • 1980s: Manoplax, a drug for congestive heart failure, was a major research focus for Boots.ref
  • 1980s: Children's World, a division within larger out-of-town superstores, was developed. Sold the chain to Mothercare in 1996.ref
  • 1978: Tamblyn Drugs, a Canadian chain, was acquired. Most Canadian Boots shops were converted to Pharma Plus in 1989, although a few locations remained as late as 1993.
  • 1971: The Boots Company Ltd: Boots Pure Drug Company Ltd changed its name.OpenCorporates-sm.svg
  • Mar.1968: Boots the Chemist Ltd was incorporated. CH
  • 1968: Timothy Whites & Taylors Ltd, a 622-store chain of dispensing chemist and houseware stores, was acquired.ref
  • Feb.1969: Ibuprofen: a prescription drug "Brufen" was launched, resulting from 16 years of research and developed, begun in 1953 by John Nicholson and Stewart Adams. By 1980, Brufen had become the UK’s no 1 anti-inflammatory treatment. In 1985, Boots received the Queen’s Award for Technological Achievement for the discovery and development of ibuprofen.
  • Mar.1968: Boots the Chemist Ltd was incorporated.OpenCorporates-sm.svg
  • 1968: 17, a makeup range aimed at the growing teenage market, was launched.
  • 1944: Penicillin began being mass manufactured, after the Ministry of Supply asked the company to design and operate a ‘surface culture’ plant for mass production.
  • 1939: Soltan, a non-greasy sun tan lotion, was launched as both a cream and a lotion. The fantastic summer that year helped to make the brand an instant success.
  • 1936: The first overseas Boots branch opened in New Zealand in Wellington, Australia.
  • 1935: No.7: the range was launched as an answer to providing a prestigious but affordable beauty range.
  • 1933: Due to deteriorating economic circumstances in North America, Boots was sold back into British hands. The grandson of the founder, John Boot, who inherited the title Baron Trent from his father, headed the company.ref
  • 1921: Stabilarsan, an effective syphilis treatment, was approved by the Ministry for Health.
  • 1920: United Drug Company of America bought the business from Jesse Boot.ref
  • 1915 (WWI): Britain lost its supply of chemicals from Germany. To bridge the gap, Jesse brought together a team of experts to research and manufacture key synthetic chemicals such as aspirin. Boots created a new manufacturing process which involved 17 different analytical tests. The company supplied the UK Govt with medicines for field hospitals, and manufacturing products such as water sterilizing tablets which claimed to destroy the organisms of cholera, typhoid, coli and dysentery in ~30 minutes.
  • 1913: The first free educational provision was established for employees through the offer of a series of evening classes run in partnership with Nottingham’s Education Committee. By 1920 this opportunity was extended as employees aged between 14-16 were granted half a day a week to study a variety of vocational and academic lessons at the Boots Day Continuation School.
  • Nov.1888: Boots Pure Drug Company Ltd: Boot and Company Ltd changed its name.OpenCorporates-sm.svg
  • 1883: Boot & Company Ltd was incorporated.
  • 1877: Health for a Shilling: Jesse took sole control of the business, and launched an extensive advertising campaign, which positioned Boots as the store which offered traditional medicines at greatly reduced prices.
  • 1870: M & J Boot, Herbalists: Jesse, having left school at 13 to help his mother, was given a partnership in the family business.
  • 1860: John Boot died. His wife Mary, and son Jesse Boot (aged 10), ran the family's shop.
  • 1849: Botanic Establishment: John Boot opened a herbalist store in Nottingham.ref
Additional Sources: About Books UK: Boots UK. Accessed Aug.2020.
ToDo: link, link, link, link, link, Halfords, Ward White, link

Alliance UniChem plc / Alliance Healthcare

ToDo: Pharmaceutical Wholesale, link, pics, history

The Alliance UniChem Group, formed in 1997 through the merger of UniChem plc and Alliance Santé SA, has core businesses of pharmaceutical wholesaling and retail pharmacy. The Alliance UniChem Group has retail operations in 5 countries and operates over 1,300 pharmacies across Europe (including approximately 120 operated by associates), including over 960 in the UK. Including associates, the Alliance UniChem Group has wholesaling operations in 13 countries and distributes to approximately 125,000 pharmacies, hospitals and health centres through a distribution network comprising around 380 depots. It is intended that, following an integration period, the Enlarged Group’s network will include two retail formats, both branded “Boots”, ranging from smaller dispensing pharmacies to larger high street and edge-of-town health and beauty stores. In addition, the Enlarged Group will operate approximately 300 other retail outlets, including freestanding Boots Opticians practices. The Enlarged Group will continue the Alliance UniChem Group’s wholesale business model which is designed to provide customers and manufacturers with an efficient system for the distribution of medicines and other healthcare products to pharmacies, supported by value added services. The Alliance UniChem Group’s wholesale network (including associates) operates in 13 countries, through around 380 depots.


Alliance UniChem plc, a company incorporated in England and Wales with registered number 2517178 Alliance UniChem will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Boots.

  • Jan.2006: the Boots Healthcare International division of the Boots Group was disposed of.
  • Dec.2005: the European Commission agreed to Boots’ and Alliance UniChem’s request to have the Merger considered by the UK competition authorities. On 22 February 2006, the OFT published its decision that, subject to undertakings being agreed in relation to the divestment of a number of stores, the Merger would not be referred to the Competition Commission.
  • Oct.2005: the Boards of Boots and Alliance UniChem announced that they had agreed the terms of a recommended merger to create the Enlarged Group, an international pharmacy-led health and beauty group to be called “Alliance Boots”. the Merger was subject to (amongst other things) the satisfaction or waiver of certain pre-conditions, including completion of the disposal of Boots Healthcare International and receipt of appropriate competition clearances.

Stefano Pessina: lives in Monaco and doesn't pay British taxes.ref Alliance UniChem CEO (2001-2004); Alliance Boots chairman (2007-2014); Executive VC and CEO.ref Walgreens Boots Alliance director.ref,ref Consumer Goods Forum (director).ref,ref

  • Jul.2007: Boots was taken private.ref,ref
  • 2006: Alliance UniChem merged with Boots Group plc.
  • 1997: Alliance UniChem was formed through the merger of UniChem plc and Alliance Santé SA.ref,ref,
  • 1977: Stefano Pessina took over his family's pharmaceutical wholesaler (?Petrone Group?) in Naples, Italy, and turned it into Alliance Santé, a Franco-Italian pharmaceutical wholesale group.ref

Walgreen Company

ToDo: link
ToDo: Walgreens acq'd Rite Aid Corporation in 2015, Rite Aid: Our History, Rite Aid - Company Histories
  • 1909: Walgreen Company was incorporated in Illinois, as a successor to a business founded in 1901.ref

Articles

  • Jan.09.2020: British pharmacies put Walgreens Boots Alliance on the back foot again. Walgreens is run by Stefano Pessina, a billionaire Italian entrepreneur. Walgreens has cut jobs and is investing in its IT systems to reduce costs and improve efficiency. In Nov.2019 it emerged that Mr Pessina was considering a debt-laden buyout of Walgreens with private equity firm KKR, in what would be the largest take-private deal in history. However, they have been unable to agree on a valuation for Walgreens. James Dean, The Times.
  • Feb.02.2018: NHS forced to pay £1,500 for £2 pot of moisturiser. MPs demand action as Boots owner exploits loophole. Paul Williams, member of the Health Select Committee, called on the govt to intervene. Louise Haigh. The prices of many specials are not regulated, can be required at short notice, meaning that delivery costs vary significantly, are prescribed 300,000 times a year at a cost of £50m. BCM Specials, owned by Boots’s parent company. Paul Morgan-Bentley, Billy Kenber, The Times.