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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