US: Walgreens Will Keep Selling Tobacco Products

Source from:  Chicago Tribune 01/28/2016

The nation's No. 1 drugstore has no plans to stop selling tobacco products and said its main focus is trying to help people kick the habit, Walgreens executives told shareholders at Wednesday's annual meeting.

"We do deliberate this on a regular basis," said Executive Chairman James Skinner. "Our main focus is to try to get people to quit smoking, and we provide a lot of opportunities in stores to do that," he said, adding, "We also provide (products) for consumers who decide they want to smoke."

Walgreens'stance contradicts chief competitor CVS'move last year to remove tobacco products from its shelves.

Shareholders of Deerfield-based Walgreens gathered in New York on Wednesday morning to vote on four proposals, including a failed bid to tie executive compensation to sustainability metrics.

Other matters voted on at the meeting included the election of 11 board members, the executive compensation policy and having Deloitte & Touche LLP as the company's independent registered public accounting firm, all three of which passed with overwhelming majorities. The failed proposal, put forth by a shareholder, would have included sustainability goals as a performance measure for executive compensation. It garnered only 1 percent of the vote.

After the voting, CEO Stefano Pessina gave an overview of the company's operations and discussed Walgreens'plans to buy Rite Aid Pharmacy for $9.41 billion and expand its U.S. footprint. The deal is expected to close in the second half of the calendar year, Pessina told the crowd. Walgreens now runs more than 13,000 drugstores in 11 countries, including about 8,100 in the United States, where it also operates Duane Reade locations.

Last year, Walgreens'sales were $103.4 billion. The company said it expects 2016 earnings to range from $4.30 to $4.55 per share. Enditem