Walgreens to open stores in Alaska

DEERFIELD, Ill. Walgreens plans to open its first stores in Alaska in 2009, giving the nation’s largest drug store chain a presence in all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

Walgreens expects its first store to open in Anchorage during summer 2009, with two more locations opening before the end of calendar 2009. The company is initially focusing on Anchorage and South-central Alaska, although no specific sites have been announced.

“With a fast-growing, over-65 population, the need for pharmacy and related health services is expanding in Alaska,” said William Hose, Walgreens vp of store operations for Alaska. “We’ll help meet those needs with services that are currently hard to find or don’t exist in the market.”