By George Anderson
Jeffrey Rein, chief operating officer, Walgreen's announced yesterday that the nation's largest drugstore chain would increase its budget 12-13 percent and spend approximately $360 million on advertising this year.
The decision comes as Walgreen's attempts to generate greater volume and profits from its front-end categories. The drug store chain reported that its December front-end same-store sales fell 0.2 percent.
Moderator's Comment: Do you think Walgreen's decision to increase its advertising budget will have a significant impact on its front-end (non-Rx) business?
Walgreen's spent less on promoting/discounting during the Christmas season in an effort to protect margins. Evidently, the chain has decided that more volume at lower margins is better than less volume at higher ones. [George Anderson - Moderator]