By Angela Chen
Walgreen Co. (WAG) said former Sam's Club and Claire's Stores
Inc. executive Linda Filler will become its chief merchandising
officer, overseeing brand strategy for the drugstore chain.
Walgreen president-elect Alex Gourlay said Ms. Filler brings
global experience, which will be useful as the company works to
complete its buyout of European drugstore chain Alliance Boots
GmbH.
Ms. Filler left Claire's in June after 15 months on the job,
following the abrupt departure of chief executive James Fielding.
Before Claire's, Mr. Filler was executive vice president and chief
merchandising officer for Sam's Club, a division of Wal-Mart Stores
Inc. (WMT), and has also worked at Sara Lee Corp.
Though lower prices of medicines have weighed on results,
Walgreen has been rebounding, with earnings growing due to
increasing generic drug introductions. Sales beat expectations in
the most recent quarter.
Write to Angela Chen at angela.chen@wsj.com
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