Duane Reade to Debut New Flagship Store at Iconic 40 Wall Street Building

NEW YORK, July 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- 40 Wall Street, known as the "Crown Jewel of Wall Street," once held the title of the tallest building in the world. Now, it is home to a 22,000-square-foot Duane Reade flagship store and one of the drugstore chain's most innovative locations to date, which is scheduled to open July 6th. The new 24-hour store will have a decided "up market" focus, from its health care, food and beauty offerings to exclusive services and amenities never before seen in a Duane Reade or any other drugstore.

"This store represents a milestone, with the best ideas of Duane Reade and Walgreens setting a new benchmark for health and daily living," said Walgreens President and CEO Greg Wasson. "As part of the Walgreens family of companies, Duane Reade is taking an important step in its highly visible re-branding initiatives with the opening of this store."

Joe Magnacca, President of Duane Reade and President of Daily Living Products and Solutions for Walgreens, said, "This space signifies great historical achievement, where it took workers just 93 days to build the entire steel frame of this 72-story building in 1930. Since then, it has been transformed for the new era, mirroring Duane Reade's strategic brand repositioning today. 40 Wall Street is the latest phase in introducing our iconic New York brand to its modern relevancy with our New York metropolitan area customers."

Qualified medical attention will be on-hand with the company's signature, no-appointment-required "Doctor On Premises" service that provides urgent, affordable and quality health care, including Duane Reade's first pharmacy "Powered by Walgreens Pharmacy Network." The new system will link to Walgreens pharmacy system, the largest pharmacy network in the U.S. New Yorkers, out-of-state residents and visitors now can have their Walgreens pharmacy information available at this Duane Reade location for a seamless patient experience that will also include prescription "ready" text messaging.

An expanded beauty department will feature the award-winning LOOK Boutique offering before/after virtual makeovers, skin analysis from Philips Crystalize, and an automatic fragrance sampler that will allow customers to try more than 40 different scents on their wrist. A nail salon will feature manicures, gels, the latest colors from OPI and essie, and a hair salon by Phyto Universe with services like hair/scalp analysis, blowouts and styling from a certified hair care professional. High-end, salon grade skin/hair products and accessories will be available from Nuxe and other trusted brands.

Duane Reade will bring the best of its New York Living Made Easy vision with store offerings that will include: a Sushi Station, featuring a chef and full menu from edamame to elaborate rolls; The Juice Market, offering fresh-made specialty themed smoothies; a Starbucks coffee and fresh bakery counter; a Coca-Cola "Freestyle" machine dispensing 130 varieties of Coca Cola fountain drinks; and an expanded natural and organic section containing fresh fruits, vegetables, wraps, sandwiches and salads made daily; including other products exclusive to Duane Reade.

"The fresh and healthy food offerings will be un-paralleled within the drugstore industry," said Paul Tiberio, Senior Vice President of Merchandising & Chief Marketing Officer for Duane Reade. "As our customers shop across fewer retailers, we have positioned 40 Wall Street to best service the 'need-it-now' trips of the area's growing residential and professional populations, offering an 'up market' fresh food proposition and their one-stop shop solution."

The Virtual Assistant, custom designed for Duane Reade by Tensator, will welcome and introduce customers to the many new store features by utilizing the latest in holographic imaging and audio-visual technology to create the illusion of a real person. (Tensator is a global leader in queue management and digital signage solutions.)

For the professional on the go, a retro-styled, mahogany-polished shoe shine area will be on-hand, and all proceeds from the shine will be donated to various New York-based philanthropic organizations through the Duane Reade Charitable Foundation. In addition, business enthusiasts will be able to browse the international newsstand stocked with papers from financial centers across the globe, power-up at a cell phone charging station that will lock the device and charge while a customer shops, all while taking in important stock, news and sports feeds on the 20-foot official NYSE in-store ticker.

Other New York City conveniences include daily fresh flowers available for any occasion and the biggest Duane Reade/HP digital photo center to date.          

About Duane Reade

Founded in 1960, Duane Reade is the largest drug store chain in New York City. In keeping with company's brand vision of New York Living Made Easy, Duane Reade provides New Yorkers with prescriptions, health products and services, beauty products and services, food and convenience items for daily life in the City… everything for "How I Feel", "How I Look", and "What I Need Now".  The company operates 250+ stores throughout the metropolitan New York region. Duane Reade is part of the Walgreens family of companies, the nation's largest drugstore chain with more than 7, 700 stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

SOURCE Duane Reade