As one of the largest and most well-known pharmacy chains in the United States, Walgreens plays a major role in shaping access to healthcare and wellness for millions of Americans. But what exactly drives this retail giant? At the core of Walgreens‘ business is its mission statement: "To champion the health and well-being of every community in America".
This succinct and powerful phrase encapsulates Walgreens‘ purpose and what it aims to achieve. But there is much more behind those dozen words. Let‘s take a closer look at what Walgreens‘ mission really means, how it manifests across the company‘s operations, the challenges in realizing such an ambitious goal, and how it stacks up in an increasingly competitive industry.
Defining Walgreens‘ Mission and Vision
Walgreens‘ choice of words in its official mission statement is very deliberate. The verb "champion" positions the company as more than just a provider of pharmacy and health services, but as an active advocate and leader. It‘s a strong term meant to convey expertise, passion, and commitment to a cause.
The cause that Walgreens is championing is clearly stated: the health and well-being of every community in America. This wording simultaneously establishes Walgreens‘ area of focus on healthcare while also emphasizing its broad reach. By specifically calling out "every community", Walgreens signals that its mission extends to all parts of the country and all demographics. It positions Walgreens as an integral part of the national healthcare landscape.
Interestingly, Walgreens‘ parent company, Walgreens Boots Alliance, has a strikingly similar but slightly broader mission statement: "to help people across the world lead healthier and happier lives." The two statements echo each other with their focus on health promotion. But WBA takes a more expansive view, looking globally rather than just within the United States. This reflects the international presence and aspirations of the larger corporation.
So what is Walgreens‘ long-term vision that guides its mission? The company states its vision plainly: "to be America‘s most loved pharmacy-led health, well-being and beauty company." This builds on the community-centered mission while also incorporating key business areas beyond the prescription counter—notably retail health products and beauty. The vision conveys Walgreens‘ aim not just to serve as a healthcare resource but to be a beloved and trusted community destination.
Walgreens‘ Core Values
An organization‘s mission and vision are tightly intertwined with its core values—the principles that guide actions and decisions. Walgreens highlights several key values:
- Trust: building confidence with customers, healthcare partners and communities
- Care: showing empathy and support for the well-being of customers and patients
- Innovation: developing new ways to deliver services and improve health outcomes
- Partnership: collaborating across healthcare and within communities
- Inclusion: fostering diversity and equity for employees, customers, and communities
- Integrity: holding itself to high ethical standards as a healthcare provider
These values all tie back to and support the overarching mission. Earning trust is essential to being a champion and advocate. Demonstrating care aligns with promoting well-being. Driving innovation enables better health outcomes. Partnering with local providers and organizations extends Walgreens‘ capabilities to meet community needs. Committing to inclusion ensures equitable care for all demographics. And consistently acting with integrity is a must for any healthcare company.
Walking the Walk: Putting Mission Into Practice
For a mission statement to be meaningful, it must be embedded into a company‘s strategies, initiatives and daily operations. In recent years, Walgreens has launched a number of major efforts aligned to advancing its mission:
- Establishing in-store clinics and expanding health services to include primary care, chronic condition management, and dental care through partnerships with local providers and payers
- Remodeling stores to enhance the health and wellness experience, with new formats like Walgreens Corner dedicated to health education
- Providing free preventative health testing in underserved communities
- Increasing access to health services via digital channels and telehealth
- Offering specialty pharmacy services for complex conditions
- Expanding mental health resources, including counseling and teletherapy
- Leveraging its national scale and supplier relationships to make key health products like naloxone, vaccines, and COVID-19 tests widely available
- Launching myWalgreens membership program with health-focused benefits and donated towards community health
- Investing in mobile clinics and vaccine equity partnerships to reduce care disparities
These initiatives demonstrate a concerted strategy to make good on the mission, especially in terms of expanding healthcare access and addressing needs intensified by the pandemic.
Mission-Driven Challenges
Championing the health and well-being of every American community is a tall order, and one that comes with inevitable challenges and potential pitfalls.
Walgreens‘ broad physical footprint is a clear advantage in delivering on its community-oriented mission. With over 9000 stores spanning all 50 states, the chain has unparalleled direct access to customers. However, operating at a national scale also makes it difficult to tailor approaches for the unique dynamics of local markets. Health needs, socioeconomic factors, competitive landscapes, and policy environments vary widely across communities. Being a champion of health is not one-size-fits-all.
There are also substantial financial pressures in putting mission before profit. Many health services are low margin or even loss-leaders, making it a constant balance to uphold business sustainability while investing in public health. Tensions can arise between responsible corporate citizenship and answering to shareholder expectations.
Additionally, some have questioned potential conflicts of interest between Walgreens‘ core business and certain well-being initiatives. Pharmacies have faced criticism and litigation for their role in the opioid crisis. And selling tobacco products seems to contrast with health promotion goals. Walgreens has stopped selling e-cigarettes but still offers traditional tobacco products, putting it at odds with CVS which stopped all tobacco sales in 2014 to align with its health mission. Charging premium prices for essential health products has also invited rebukes of profit-centric practices.
Walgreens certainly isn‘t alone in grappling with business and mission trade-offs. But as a highly visible, customer-facing healthcare leader, it is under intense scrutiny to make the right choices and uphold its mission. How it navigates these dilemmas has major implications for public trust and health outcomes.
Measuring Mission Impact and Progress
Walgreens provides regular updates on its reach and initiatives supporting its mission, such as:
- Providing 65 million vaccines and 25+ million COVID-19 tests during the pandemic
- Hiring thousands of new pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to expand health services
- Raising starting wages to $15/hour and expanding employee benefits
- Doubling diverse supplier spending to $500 million annually
- Eliminating plastic bags and reducing emissions in alignment with its related CSR mission
Harder to quantify but equally important are the health outcomes and quality of care that Walgreens helps enable through its services and philanthropic efforts.
Customer, patient and employee feedback also offers a window into how well Walgreens is living its mission. Reviews frequently praise the convenience, care and community connection enabled by Walgreens‘ accessible locations and expanding health services. At the same time, critiques around long wait times, limited staffing, and impersonal service point to areas for improvement in delivering on the full mission.
Competitive Context
Walgreens‘ mission also needs to be evaluated within the intensely competitive retail pharmacy and healthcare industry. Major rivals like CVS Health have similar ambitions to be a one-stop-shop for health and a local community wellness destination.
CVS‘s mission statement, "to be the premier health innovation company transforming care delivery and health outcomes", parallels Walgreens‘ championing of health and well-being. But it differentiates with an emphasis on innovation and a wider focus that encompasses its insurance and care delivery arms.
Walmart is also making aggressive moves into the healthcare space with its integrated "Live Better" strategy, including opening primary care clinics and offering steep Rx discounts. Amazon has also emerged as a looming competitive threat with the launch of Amazon Pharmacy and its acquisition of PillPack.
Amid this jockeying to be the most compelling and convenient healthcare destination, Walgreens will need to continue innovating and delivering exceptional experiences to truly stand out as a champion of community health. Collaborating and co-locating with local providers, personalizing services, and leading with empathy and integrity will be key to building competitive advantage and distinctively bringing its mission to life.
Looking Forward
As Walgreens navigates evolving industry dynamics and works to accelerate its mission, it will be important to keep a pulse on shifting public health needs and expectations. The pandemic has underscored the importance of equitable access, preventative care, mental health resources, and robust digital tools. Walgreens will need to continue adapting with agility and empathy, especially in underserved communities that may lack other options.
The company‘s mission can serve as a powerful north star to guide priorities and decisions. But it will require continual recommitment, investment, and accountability to translate those words into meaningful action and outcomes.
At the end of the day, Walgreens‘ mission is as much a promise to the communities it serves as it is an aspirational goal. Delivering on that promise at scale is a huge undertaking—but also a huge opportunity. By operating with authenticity and always striving to be a true champion of local health and well-being, Walgreens can set itself apart, maintain trust, and make an indelible positive impact for the millions of lives in touches. That‘s the transformative potential of a mission-driven business.
Conclusion
Walgreens‘ mission "to champion the health and well-being of every community in America" stakes out an ambitious and important purpose at impressive scale. Bringing it to fruition across 9000+ stores and the diverse tapestry of American communities is a complex ongoing journey that requires a cohesive strategy, strong values alignment, continual adaptation, and unwavering commitment.
With its expanding range of health services, community initiatives, and a sharpened focus amid the pandemic, Walgreens has demonstrated progress in realizing this mission while encountering some inevitable challenges and tensions. As the company looks to the future in an intensely competitive and dynamic landscape, it must keep this powerful mission at the center—not just as words, but as a guiding light for bold actions that truly champion equitable health and well-being. In doing so, Walgreens can continue to set itself apart, deepen customer and community bonds, and make good on its foundational promise.
