Walgreen Company

Amid the economic downturn and slow growth for retail and outpatient medical care services, pharmacy giants Walgreen Co. and CVS Caremark Corp. are rolling out new specialized services at their in-store clinics, going beyond treatment of routine maladies.

Amid the economic downturn and slow growth for retail and outpatient medical care services, pharmacy giants Walgreen Co. and CVS Caremark Corp. are rolling out new specialized services at their in-store clinics, going beyond treatment of routine maladies.

A Los Angeles jury awarded $2.1 million to a woman who alleged that she was called "hot," leered at and falsely arrested by two Walgreens security guards -- who also asked for her phone number. According to the lawsuit, Alicia Benham and a friend tried to return merchandise to a Walgreens on April 17, 2004. Instead, two security guards accused them of theft and "terrorized them" by holding the pair in separate rooms without windows.

Drugstore chain Walgreen Co. has withdrawn its $2.8-billion bid to acquire Longs Drug Stores, apparently helping to ease the path for Longs' $2.7-billion acquisition by CVS Caremark Corp. Longs had already accepted CVS Caremark's lower bid of $71.50 a share, a deal approved by antitrust regulators. Walgreen Chief Executive Jeffrey Rein sent a letter to Longs' board of directors informing it of Walgreen's decision to withdraw its bid.

Officials at Walgreens say they know best how to operate a nationwide chain of stores. After all, they point out, customers are attracted to their kind of place -- a big-box store that is usually surrounded by ample parking spaces. Of its more than 3,900 all-purpose drugstores, only two outlets -- both in California -- have gone out of business in the last 10 years because of a lack of business, they say.

The federal government Wednesday sued Walgreen Co., alleging widespread racial bias against thousands of black employees of the nation's largest drugstore chain. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleges in a class-action lawsuit that Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreen makes decisions about employee assignment and promotion based on race. Most of the complaints that led to the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in East St. Louis, Ill., came from employees and former employees in St.

* Libbey Inc. will close a factory in Canada, eliminating 560 jobs, and stop making glass bottles in an attempt to increase profit. Libbey, a maker of glass tableware, will shift the plant's production of glasses to the United States and Mexico.

* Sears Canada Inc., deciding the historic Eaton brand name is too precious to give up or lose to potential U.S. rivals, said it will buy at least five key big-city stores from T. Eaton Co. and operate them as upscale Eaton's stores. Sears Canada, majority-owned by Sears, Roebuck & Co., had earlier agreed to buy up to 13 suburban stores from the insolvent company. Sears also said it will revive Eaton's catalog and run its online business under the Eaton banner. * Walgreen Co., the largest U.S.

Walgreen Co., the No. 1 U.S. drugstore chain, posted better-than-expected July sales for stores open at least a year, helping its shares gain more than 7% on hopes the results augur improved profit in the current quarter. The Deerfield, Ill.-based retailer said same-store sales rose 12.8%, while total sales for the month jumped 18.6% to $2.07 billion from $1.75 billion a year earlier. Investors were responding to a 21% increase in same-store pharmacy sales and a 2.

Walgreen Co., the largest U.S. drugstore chain, said its second-quarter earnings rose 14% on increased pharmacy sales. Profit was below analysts' estimates, sending the shares to their biggest decline in seven months. Net income climbed to $490.9 million, or 48 cents a share, from $431.6 million, or 42 cents, a year earlier, Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreen said. Sales rose 12% to $11 billion. Shares of Walgreen fell $1.12, or 2.4%, to $45.11 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Shares of Walgreen Co. fell to their lowest price in almost five years Monday after the drugstore operator reported disappointing revenue in its fiscal fourth quarter, pointing to promotions that failed to pay off. Walgreen said cost cuts and greater sales lifted its profit 12% for the quarter. But its revenue fell short of expectations, and the company said it engaged in too many discounts and promotions as it tried to ramp up sales in the face of difficult economic conditions. Customers did not pick up as many impulse items as Walgreen expected.

Drugstore chain Walgreen Co. said Monday that its fiscal third-quarter profit rose 2% as it focused on cost control and maintained a rapid expansion pace in a difficult retail environment. Despite the modest gain, the results were slightly short of Wall Street expectations and Walgreen shares fell back after initially climbing nearly 3%. Overall, however, analysts said the Deerfield, Ill.-based company's cost discipline and continued advances in a weak economy showed it had turned a corner after recent sluggishness.

A Los Angeles jury awarded $2.1 million to a woman who alleged that she was called "hot," leered at and falsely arrested by two Walgreens security guards -- who also asked for her phone number. According to the lawsuit, Alicia Benham and a friend tried to return merchandise to a Walgreens on April 17, 2004. Instead, two security guards accused them of theft and "terrorized them" by holding the pair in separate rooms without windows.

chicago -- Shares of drugstore chain Walgreen Co. tumbled Monday after the usually solid retailer's fiscal fourth-quarter revenue fell sharply short of expectations, causing its first earnings decrease in nearly a decade. Shares sank more than 15%, on pace to be the largest single-day decrease in roughly 20 years, before recovering slightly.

Walgreen Co., the largest U.S. drugstore chain, said fiscal third-quarter profit rose 20% on sales of generic drugs and a lower tax rate. Net income climbed to $561.2 million, or 56 cents a share, from $469.2 million, or 46 cents, a year earlier, the company said. Sales advanced 13% to $13.7 billion. Shares of Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreen fell 72 cents to $44.25.

Walgreen Co.'s fiscal second-quarter earnings rose 25%, more than analysts estimated, on increased sales of more-profitable generic drugs. Net income climbed to $651.9 million, or 65 cents a share, from $523.5 million, or 51 cents, a year earlier, the company said. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had forecast profit of 61 cents at the largest U.S. drugstore chain. Sales at Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreen rose 15% to $13.9 billion.

Walgreen Co. said fiscal first-quarter profit climbed 31%, the most in four years, spurred by sales of generic drugs and digital-photo processing. The retailer's shares had their biggest gain in 19 months. Net income at Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreen, the nation's top drugstore chain by sales, rose to $332.7 million, or 32 cents a share, from $254.9 million, or 25 cents, a year earlier. Sales in the period ended Nov. 30 rose 13% to $9.89 billion, the company said. Shares of Walgreen rose $2.

The federal government Wednesday sued Walgreen Co., alleging widespread racial bias against thousands of black employees of the nation's largest drugstore chain. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleges in a class-action lawsuit that Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreen makes decisions about employee assignment and promotion based on race. Most of the complaints that led to the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in East St. Louis, Ill., came from employees and former employees in St.

A jury cleared Walgreen Co. of racial discrimination alleged in a $2.5-million civil lawsuit brought by four black Texas men who say they were wronged at a Reno drugstore four years ago. In their lawsuit in Washoe County District Court, the men claimed that a photo lab clerk shouted a racial slur, slammed a door and denied them service after they complained about the quality of their photos. Walgreens maintained the incident was a case of poor customer service, not bias.