DEERFIELD, Ill., April 4 /PRNewswire/ - Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG),
the nation's largest drugstore chain, today announced it is joining
11 other leading retailers in founding the WorldWide Retail
Exchange. The new web-based, business-to-business exchange
is expected to begin operating mid-2000. It is designed to facilitate
and simplify trading between retailers and more than 100,000 suppliers,
partners and distributors.
Walgreens is joining, as a founder, Albertson's (US), Auchan
(France), Casino (France), CVS (US), Kingfisher (UK), K-Mart (US),
Marks Spencer (UK), Royal Ahold (The Netherlands), Safeway, Inc.
(US), Target (US) and Tesco (UK). Together, the group operates
more than 30,000 stores and had 1999 combined sales of more than
$300 billion. Other prominent retailers also are invited to join
the exchange and have expressed interest in the initiative.
"We're eager to work with these other leading retailers from
around the world and believe a neutral and open exchange will
benefit the entire industry," said L. Daniel Jorndt, Chairman
and CEO of Walgreen Co. "This Internet exchange also has the potential
to provide us with greater operational efficiencies.
The WorldWide Retail Exchange will be a web-based marketplace,
enabling transactions between retailers operating in the food,
general merchandise and drugstore sectors. It will be an open
exchange and provides an information highway of publicly available
item data together with private price and promotion information
between multiple buyers and sellers. The exchange also will provide
the means for auctioning products.
Participating companies anticipate interaction on the WorldWide
Retail Exchange to be more efficient due to standardized item
information. The WorldWide Retail Exchange is expected to lower
costs in the supply chain for all participants.
Currently, CEOs of the participating companies, or their representatives,
form the Executive Committee of the exchange. In the future, the
WorldWide Retail Exchange is expected to be an independently managed
company. The founding members will review major technologies and
invite IT companies to work with the exchange.
In the first few years, investments in the collaborative partnership
are expected to amount to approximately $100 million. Savings
generated from WorldWide Retail Exchange are expected to rapidly
exceed costs.
The participants are working toward establishment of the exchange,
and terms of membership are under discussion.
Walgreen Co. is the nation's largest drugstore chain, with fiscal
1999 sales of $17.8 billion. The company operates 3,007 stores
in 41 states and Puerto Rico.
Walgreen company information is available on the Internet at
www.walgreens.com.
CONTACT:
Michael Polzin of Walgreen Co.
847-914-2925
12:58 EDT
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