NABCA 19TH ANNUAL LEGAL SYMPOSIUM ON ALCOHOL BEVERAGE LAW & REGULATION

Erin L. Neff Senior Attorney

Litigation and Regulatory Law Department

March 6, 2012

1

National Retailer Perspectives

• Over 7,800 retail drugstore locations

• 2011 sales were $72 billion

• Over 247,000 employees

• 6.1 million customers served daily

• A typical store:Total size: 14,500 square feetSales area: 11,000 square feetItems for sale: 18,000Employees: 25-30Annual sales: $9 million 2

Getting Back Into the Business...• Walgreen Co. was once one of the largest retailers of alcoholic beverages in the nation before phasing the

offering out in the 1990s. • Walgreen Co. made a decision in 2009 to pursue alcoholic beverage licenses in 39 states, Puerto Rico and

Washington DC. • We took lessons learned from past experiences and combined them with today’s technology to create new

tools to further compliance, licensing and training.• An alcohol team was assembled with representatives from every major corporate department including

Legal, Government Relations, Store Operations, Compliance, Merchandising, License Administration, Loss Prevention, Internal Audit, IT and Learning Services to name a few.

• By the end of 2011, we held more than 5,500 licenses.

3

Challenges

4

Coordination of Corporate Departments

Licensing

Compliance

Marketing

Regulation and Government Affairs

Coordination of Corporate Departments

5

• Single Point of Contact (SPOC)

• Clearly Defined Roles (and knowing when to go beyond them…)

• Compilation of Data

Licensing

• Application and Renewal Process Nuances

• Corporate Officer and Board Member Information and Fingerprints

• Hearings

6

Compliance

• Training and Policies

• Enforcement

• Citations and Compliance Hearings

7

Marketing• Weekly

Circulars

• Promotions

• Online Advertising and Web Pickup

8

Regulations and Government Affairs

• Meshing Modern Technology with Regulations

• Expectations of Regulators

• Managing Network of Outside Counsel

9

NABCA 19TH ANNUAL LEGAL SYMPOSIUM ON ALCOHOL BEVERAGE LAW & REGULATION

Erin L. Neff Senior Attorney

Litigation and Regulatory Law Department

March 6, 2012

10

National Retailer Perspectives