Walgreens reports 8.7% increase in November sales

DEERFIELD, Ill. Walgreens reported a surge in monthly sales ended Nov. 30.

The drug store chain reported sales of $5.36 billion, an increase of 8.7% from $4.93 billion for the same month in 2008.  Sales in comparable stores (those open at least a year) increased 3.9%.

Meanwhile, Walgreens reported a 9.7% increase in pharmacy sales, though comparable pharmacy sales were negatively impacted by 2.4 percentage points due to generic drug introductions in the last 12 months. Pharmacy sales accounted for 65% percent of total sales for the month.

The drug store chain also reported that sales were "notably softer" this year's Thanksgiving weekend.

Calendar year-to-date sales were $58.6 billion, an increase of 7.7% from $54.4 billion in 2008.

During the month of November, Walgreens opened 47 stores, including seven relocations, and acquired two stores. At Nov. 30, Walgreens operated 7,648 locations in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. That includes 7,147 drug stores, 517 more than a year ago, including 60 stores acquired over the last 12 months.