Walgreens Annual Report Analysis
BA 2196 101/Amy Sauber
Writing Assignment: Analyzing the Annual Report
Each year companies get a chance to tell what their organizations have accomplished and what their future goals are through annual reports. The purpose of these reports is to deliver shareholders, possible investors, and employee’s information on how a company has been performing and how it expects to progress in the future. Walgreens, a pharmacy-led health and wellbeing enterprise founded in 1901, is one such company that takes advantage of having an annual report. To convey its information, Walgreens uses three communication techniques and strategies. First, to show the strides it has made in creating a customer-centric retailing experience, Walgreens uses full sized photographs of people in its stores, followed by their stories. Second, to demonstrate its new global presence, Walgreens annual report uses a page full of statistics surrounded by small pictures about its new strategic partnership with Alliance Boots. Finally, to highlight its financial and business achievements, Walgreens uses bullet points about all of its milestones from 2012 in its annual report.
To give investors an idea of how Walgreens new customer-centric retailing experience provides benefits to both the customer and the company, Walgreens uses full-page pictures of its customers followed by their stories. For example, one photo is of patron Steve Gorgievski holding a shopping basket filled with an assortment of different products. The caption that reads after states, “Steve Gorgievski’s shopping needs have changed. … New features of Walgreens Well Experience store format, such as a fresh food section, upgraded beauty department, enhanced private brand selection and patient-centered health experience, can provide this husband and father with everything he needs.”(Walgreens 2012 Pg. 8) Walgreens uses these pictures and stories to show investors that it is not just an average drug store but one that has unique
Writing Assignment: Analyzing the Annual Report
Each year companies get a chance to tell what their organizations have accomplished and what their future goals are through annual reports. The purpose of these reports is to deliver shareholders, possible investors, and employee’s information on how a company has been performing and how it expects to progress in the future. Walgreens, a pharmacy-led health and wellbeing enterprise founded in 1901, is one such company that takes advantage of having an annual report. To convey its information, Walgreens uses three communication techniques and strategies. First, to show the strides it has made in creating a customer-centric retailing experience, Walgreens uses full sized photographs of people in its stores, followed by their stories. Second, to demonstrate its new global presence, Walgreens annual report uses a page full of statistics surrounded by small pictures about its new strategic partnership with Alliance Boots. Finally, to highlight its financial and business achievements, Walgreens uses bullet points about all of its milestones from 2012 in its annual report.
To give investors an idea of how Walgreens new customer-centric retailing experience provides benefits to both the customer and the company, Walgreens uses full-page pictures of its customers followed by their stories. For example, one photo is of patron Steve Gorgievski holding a shopping basket filled with an assortment of different products. The caption that reads after states, “Steve Gorgievski’s shopping needs have changed. … New features of Walgreens Well Experience store format, such as a fresh food section, upgraded beauty department, enhanced private brand selection and patient-centered health experience, can provide this husband and father with everything he needs.”(Walgreens 2012 Pg. 8) Walgreens uses these pictures and stories to show investors that it is not just an average drug store but one that has unique
Cited: Walgreens (2012). Walgreens 2012 Annual Report. Retrieved October 2013, from http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/WAG/2305161536x0x608988/5A4CA423-70A4-46A7-876E-0EA1FBDF14AA/WAG_2012_AR_lo.pdf