CINCINNATI and DEERFIELD, Ill., Dec.
11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Building on a unique collaboration
that first brought together The Kroger Co.'s (NYSE: KR) food and
grocery experience with Walgreens' expertise in health and beauty,
the companies have formed a new group purchasing organization (GPO)
aimed at delivering purchasing efficiencies, lower costs and
combined resources to help drive further innovation. The new joint
venture will be called Retail Procurement Alliance.
"This collaboration is an extension of the strategic
collaboration announced last year to create value for customers and
shareholders of both companies," said Gary
Millerchip, Kroger's Chief Financial Officer. "Kroger and
Walgreens share a commitment to finding value and efficiency
improvements by increasing innovation and competition through
sourcing. This concept brings together the best of two great
organizations to reinvent critical components of our sourcing
practices."
"Through this unique joint venture, Walgreens and Kroger have
the opportunity to use our collective resources to create
efficiencies across our supply chains," said Alex Gourlay, co-chief operating officer,
Walgreens Boots Alliance. "This collaboration will also enhance our
ability to drive innovation for customers, including both of our
private-label brands, to further meet their evolving needs for
value and convenience."
Kroger and Walgreens initially announced an exploratory pilot in
October 2018 to develop a one-stop
shopping experience, which launched in December 2018 as the Kroger Express concept in 13
Walgreens stores in Northern
Kentucky. In August 2019,
Walgreens and Kroger announced an expansion of the pilot at 35
Walgreens locations in Knoxville,
Tennessee and introduced a curated assortment of Walgreens
health and beauty products at 17 Kroger stores in the same area.
For photography of the pilots, visit here.
About The Kroger Co.
At The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), we
are Fresh for Everyone™ and dedicated to our Purpose:
To Feed the Human Spirit®. We are, across our
family of companies, nearly half a million associates who serve
over 11 million customers daily through a seamless shopping
experience under a variety of banner names. We are committed
to creating #ZeroHungerZeroWaste communities by 2025. To learn more
about us, visit our newsroom and investor
relations site.
About Walgreens
Walgreens (walgreens.com), one of the
nation's largest drugstore chains, is included in the Retail
Pharmacy USA Division of Walgreens
Boots Alliance, Inc. (Nasdaq: WBA), a global leader in retail and
wholesale pharmacy. Walgreens is proud to be a neighborhood health,
beauty and retail destination supporting communities across the
country, and was named to FORTUNE* magazine's 2019 Companies that
Change the World list. Approximately 8 million customers interact
with Walgreens in stores and online each day. As of August 31, 2019, Walgreens operates 9,277
drugstores with a presence in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, along with its
omnichannel business, Walgreens.com. Walgreens also provides
specialty pharmacy and mail services and convenient access to
in-store clinics and other health care services throughout
the United States, most of which
are operated by our health care strategic partners.
*© 2019, Fortune Media IP Limited. Used under
license.
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SOURCE The Kroger Co.