Dive Brief:
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Walgreens Chief Marketing Officer Linh Peters left the drugstore retailer as part of a round of layoffs in November, a company spokesperson confirmed by email.
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At the time, Walgreens eliminated 267 roles, or 5% of its corporate staff, including Chief Medical Officer Kevin Ban. The move came after the company cut 10% of its workforce in May.
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Peters had arrived just last year from Calvin Klein, where she was also chief marketing officer.
Dive Insight:
This year has been one of massive upheaval at Walgreens.
In June, the retailer said it would close 150 stores in the U.S. and 300 in the U.K., part of a cost-cutting effort that targets at least $800 million in savings in 2024, for an accumulation of $4.1 billion by then. In July, Chief Financial Officer James Kehoe resigned.
In September Rosalind Brewer stepped down as chief executive officer after two years in the role, a sign that some analysts saw as a further step away from a focus on retail. Brewer had arrived from Starbucks, and was also previously chief executive of Walmart’s Sam’s Club business.
In October, ex-Cigna executive Tim Wentworth was tapped to take Brewer’s place as chief executive. The next month Neal Sample, who had executive experience at Express Scripts and Northwestern Mutual, replaced Hsiao Wang as chief information officer.
Last year Walgreens had explored a sale of its Boots business. The company and major rivals like CVS have neglected their front-of-store operations in favor of expanding medical services. Walgreens has invested in its U.S. healthcare division, including value-based medical chain VillageMD, at-home care provider CareCentrix and specialty pharmacy Shields Health Solutions, while CVS Health also acquired a value-based medical group this year.
In its last fiscal year, which ended Aug. 31, sales at Walgreens rose 4.8% year over year to $139.1 billion, “reflecting sales growth in the U.S. Retail Pharmacy and International segments, and sales contribution from the U.S. Healthcare segment.” The company swung to a $3.1 billion net loss from net earnings of $4.3 billion last year, in part due to opioid-related claims and litigation in the period, according to a company press release.
