- Walgreens is one of the largest pharmacy chains in the United States.
- The retailer's holding company, the Walgreens Boots Alliance, also operates thousands of stores around the world.
- To better picture the company's scale, Business Insider spoke to a Walgreens spokesperson and reviewed the company's most recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Walgreens is one of the biggest players in the pharmaceutical field.
The Walgreens Boots Alliance, the official name of the chain's holding company, operates thousands of stores. People around the world rely on these stores for their pharmaceutical needs, from prescription drugs to flu shots.
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A Walgreens spokesperson shared a statement with Business Insider regarding the the retailer's sheer scale. We also picked out a few remarkable statistics from the company's most recent Securities and Exchange Commission 10-K filing.
Here are a few facts that capture Walgreens' immense size:
Walgreens was first founded in 1909, although it had a predecessor that launched eight years prior.M. Spencer Green/AP ImagesSource: Walgreens
A spokesperson told Business Insider that Walgreens became "the first major chain to put prescriptions into child-resistant containers" in 1968.Nick Ut/AP Images
The spokesperson added that the company has a number of other innovations under its belt, including the malted milkshake. This treat was concocted at a Walgreens counter in 1922, according to the spokesperson.Larry Crowe/AP Images
The chain also introduced the electronic prescription in 1992, also known as Walgreens' "Pre-Scribe software," according to the spokesperson.John Minchillo/AP Images for MasterCard
These days, a Walgreens spokesperson told Business Insider that the pharmacy chain "fills more than one prescription from a mobile device" every second.M. Spencer Green/AP Images
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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