American retail company Walgreens will discontinue operations of two of its websites, Drugstore.com and Beauty.com, in a bid to focus on Walgreens.com.

The closure of the websites five years after acquiring them for $429m shows how traditional retailers face challenges with online properties.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Premium Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

View all

Based in Bellevue, Washington, Drugstore.com served as a distributor of drugs, vitamins and beauty products.

“Expanding on these efforts is an important part of our strategy.”

Earlier this year, Walgreens also sold Skinstore.com as part of the Drugstore.com acquisition, reported The Wall Street Journal.

According to a company statement, the plan to close the two sites by the end of September will record pre-tax charges of nearly $115m.

See Also:

The decision is part of Walgreens’ larger aim to save $1.5bn in annual costs by the end of the next fiscal year.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

The cost reduction plan will help the retail company restructure and invest for its future growth, in order to better serve its customers.

Walgreens said in a statement: “Over the past year, we have been focusing on building new omnichannel capabilities on Walgreens.com with initiatives that improved assortment and website user experiences, enhanced our digital coupon capabilities to provide more customer value, and added digital tools into our stores to elevate our shopping experiences.

“Expanding on these efforts is an important part of our strategy.”

When Drugstore.com was acquired by Walgreens in June 2011, it had more than more than 60,000 products catering to the needs of more than three million customers, cited Geek Wire.