Duane Reade's new flagship is glimpse of drug store of the future
NEW YORK — Duane Reade unveiled on Tuesday its new flagship store at the iconic 40 Wall St. — an impressive co-branded location that undoubtedly represents a milestone as it brings together under one roof the best ideas of Duane Reade and Walgreens and leverages innovative technology throughout to enhance the shopping experience.
(View photos of the flagship store: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3)
"We are taking the best of Walgreens and the best of Duane Reade and bringing them together, and this store really exemplifies that," Joe Magnacca, president of Duane Reade and president of daily living products and solutions for Walgreens, told Drug Store News. "And it takes a lot of innovation that we have been working on at Duane Reade and gives it a real chance. This becomes an incubator for new ideas and new concepts — and whatever works here we have a chance to apply that to other locations both in Duane Reade and Walgreens."
During an exclusive store tour Tuesday with Magnacca, editors of Drug Store News had a chance to see such innovations firsthand. This Duane Reade location is like no other, and there's certainly a lot to see in this 22,000-sq.-ft. store with shopping-enhancing technology sprinkled throughout — from the Virtual Assistant who greets shoppers at the door to the Coca-Cola machine that dispenses 130 varieties of Coca-Cola fountain drinks to the virtual makeover tool in beauty.
Some of the key highlights of the store include:
"Powered by Walgreens Pharmacy Network." This co-branded store marks the first time that Duane Reade has introduced to its consumers the "Powered by Walgreens Pharmacy Network" concept, which links the system to the Walgreens pharmacy system;
A fresh foods department that includes a sushi station with a chef and full menu and a Juice Market with fresh-made smoothies. One of the factors that makes Duane Reade's fresh department unique is the fact that it is in New York and has access to local, well-known vendors, such as Zabar's;
An expanded Look Boutique with several European beauty brands that are newcomers to Duane Reade, and an automatic fragrance sampler so shoppers can try more than 40 different scents on their wrist;
A nail salon that will feature manicures, gels and the latest nail color shades from OPI and Essie; and
A hair salon by Phyto Universe offering such services as hair/scalp analysis, blowouts and styling.