Shop Talk

Retailers, consumers and prices

Check Out Line: Early flu sickens Walgreen’s sales

By Brad Dorfman
March 23, 2010

Check out what happens when the flu season happens early. WALGREEN/

Walgreen gets a hit to its sales in the quarter ended Feb. 28.

Usually, that quarter represents the peak of the flu season. But this year, the percent of flu-related visits to doctors offices fell to 1.8 percent in late February from a record 7.7 percent in late October, Walgreen said, citing CDC data. In 2009, that percentage was 6 percent.

So Walgreen got a boost from flu related sales in the first quarter, but saw pressure on second quarter sales as everyone else got healthy.

Same-store sales fell 0.2 percent in the quarter, Walgreen said. Front end same-store sales decreased 1.6 percent as people bought fewer flu-related items and also continued to be cautious about discretionary spending.

Also in the basket:

Super-sizing the “Last Supper”

Zale shares up on report of talks with Sun Capital

«
»

Post Your Comment

We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
  •