Walgreens’ Buying Spree

Less than two weeks after acquiring a 45% interest in Alliance Boots, Walgreens will purchase USA Drug, a 144-store chain, for $438 million.

USA Drug gives Walgreens access to stores in the mid-Southern U.S. markets. The Little Rock-based firm operates in Arkansas, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, Oklahoma and Tennessee under the Super D Drug, May’s Drug, Med-X and Drug Warehouse nameplates.

But after the buying spree, Walgreens may be faced with a tad of a hangover, The company’s June sales fell 6.8% to $5.63 billion with a 10% decline in comparable-store sales.

A couple of years ago, Walgreens acquired Duane Reade and fortified its online presence with the purchase of drugstore.com. Walgreens also purchased Happy Harry’s, a regional retailer, in 2006.