Walgreens is "absolutely aligned" with Alliance Boots, according to health and beauty chief executive Alex Gourlay.

Mr Gourlay had no concerns over US giant Walgreens' merger last July with Alliance Boots, because its ethos was "very similar to what we see in UK pharmacy", he told C+D in an exclusive interview on August 23.

Mr Gourlay, who will leave Alliance Boots for a senior management role at Walgreens in October, warned that both arms of the company should be open to change and avoid being "too protective" of their own strategies.

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	Both companies could learn from each other, Mr Gourlay stressed. "Walgreens is investing in interesting technology and delivered business-to-business healthcare services – they've got some really good practice and good people," he said.

"But they look to us and think, that's really interesting," he explained. "I think there will be things both ways, but for sure the UK is a different market."

Mr Gourlay acknowledged that there were fears when Walgreens acquired its initial 45 per cent stake that it would simply "take over" Alliance Boots, but said there was now a better understanding of the partnership. "We were concerned [the deal] would be misinterpreted as a takeover by Walgreens, and that was never the case – it was a merger," he stressed.

Mr Gourlay said one of his main goals at Walgreens would be to replicate the "community aspect" of Boots. "That's what excites me the most," he told C+D. "The real opportunity is, how do you develop a customer experience? People love Walgreens and my job is to make them love it a bit more."