Nov. 05--Walgreen Co. said Wednesday that sales at stores open at least a year rose 5.6 percent in October, as customers came in for flu shots.
The figure was just slightly under analysts' expectations of a 5.7 percent increase, according to RetailMetrics.
Overall sales were $6.8 billion, up almost 7 percent from $6.36 billion at the same time last year.
Walgreens pharmacies administered 5.7 million flu shots to date, compared with 4.9 million at this time last year.
Pharmacy sales in stores open at least a year were up 7.5 percent. They accounted for 67.3 percent of total sales for the month. Nonpharmacy sales were up 2 percent in stores open at least a year, an important retail metric.
Walgreen Co. said it opened 16 stores in October, including four relocations. One store was closed last month.
crshropshire@tribune.com
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