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DEERFIELD, Ill. — Lauren Brindley has joined Walgreens as group vice president and general merchandise manager for beauty and personal care. She succeeded Shannon Curtin, who left to pursue other opportunities.
Shannon Curtin
Brindley has served in commercial roles in Boots — mainly in beauty and personal care — for the last 10 years. She started her career at Tesco PLC.
Under her leadership Boots boosted its market share in premium beauty and fragrances by upgrading the customer experience and attracting desirable new brands. She also played a vital role in the relaunch of No7 in 2010, and most recently was a key member of the team responsible for developing Boots’ new customer strategy and launching a personalized beauty omnichannel experience.
“As we increase our focus on beauty and personal care, Lauren brings both strong customer-led leadership and industry experience to Walgreens,” Linda Filler, the chain’s president of retail products and chief merchandising officer, said in a memo to beauty suppliers.
Curtin, who joined Walgreens in July 2009 and had led beauty merchandising since August 2013, “made important contributions to expand our beauty business over the last six years,” Filler said. “During her tenure, Walgreens created an online Beauty University program and launched a monthly magazine for our best customers. Shannon’s love of the beauty category and her positive interpersonal approach are admirable, and we wish her the very best in her future endeavors.”
Also last month, Walgreens announced the elimination of 370 corporate-level jobs as part of ongoing restructuring and cost-reduction efforts.
The cuts include 270 jobs at the chain’s Chicago-area support offices, or 6% of the positions at the impacted locations, a company spokesman said.
The IT department will take the biggest hit as it undergoes “a significant restructuring to better match resources with priorities,” while other cuts will affect a variety of support office divisions, according to the company. The other approximately 100 positions being terminated will be at smaller offices in nearly 20 states.
Walgreens announced its restructuring and cost-cutting plan a year ago.
“We are realigning our business and reorganizing our corporate structure as we adapt to the fast-changing health care and retail market,” the company said in a statement, noting that the job cuts won’t impact store positions or locations. “These corporate support office changes will allow us to reduce management layers, phase out certain functions and consolidate similar job functions within the company.”
