Walgreens to begin strategic review of entire company

Walgreens to begin strategic review of entire company Caroline Hudson

The review will look at Walgreens' assets, including VillageMD, Shields Health Care Solutions, CareCentrix and its stores.

Walgreens will conduct a strategic review of its businesses this spring to determine the right ownership structure of its assets and how VillageMD, CareCentrix, Shields Health Solutions and its stores can drive more growth.The April review will develop a road map for where the company wants to focus in the coming years, CEO Tim Wentworth said Monday at TD Cowen's 44th Annual Healthcare Conference in Boston. It follows Walgreens' announcement last fall of plans to cut costs by $1 billion, substantial layoffs, the closings of dozens of primary care provider VillageMD locations and the rebuilding of Wentworth's executive team.

"We are now meaningfully looking at the entire portfolio of assets that we have to ensure that everything we have is going to drive to the growth that we aspire to deliver," Wentworth said. "There will not be a big bang after that where we announce and unveil some incredibly new Walgreens.

What you'll see is that will be the starting gun for a lot of work that we have to deliver."As part of the review, leaders will develop strategies for each of Walgreens' businesses, including VillageMD and home care company CareCentrix, as well as its the clinical trials division and fulfillment centers.

Also scrutinized will be relationships with payers and pharmacy benefit managers. And executives will look at Walgreens' specialty pharmacy company Shields Health Solutions and how it contributes to the retailer's specialty pharmacy segment. Walgreens was reportedly exploring the sale of Shields earlier this year, but Wentworth said the company is determining how to create more value with that investment, not preparing to announce a sale.