"You’ve got to skate to where the puck is going, not to where it’s been.” That’s how Bryan Pugh, who is Walgreens’ VP and chief merchandising officer, described how the merchandising department functions at Walgreens.
Walgreens has really helped to transform why consumers shop a drug store with its position in healthier-for-you foods and fresh produce. That’s not just thinking outside of the box for traditional retail pharmacy operators; that’s throwing out the box altogether and replacing it with an in-store food pyramid.
Walgreens announced a series of changes in its merchandising division following a realignment of the group, aimed at “better integrat[ing] with and accelerat[ing] our strategy to become America’s first choice for health and daily living,” Walgreens president of daily living products and solutions Joe Magnacca said late Friday in a statement to Drug Store News.