CVS Pharmacy Inc. is an American retail corporation. A subsidiary of CVS Health, it is headquartered in Woonsocket, Rhode Island.[4] Originally named the Consumer Value Stores, it was founded in Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1963.[5]
The chain was owned by its original holding company Melville Corporation from its inception until its current parent company, CVS Health, was spun off into its own company in 1996. CVS Pharmacy is currently the largest pharmacy chain in the United States by number of locations, of which it had over 9,600 as of 2016, and total prescription revenue.[6][7][8] Its parent company ranks as the fifth largest American corporation by FY2020 revenues in the Fortune 500.[9] The parent company of CVS Pharmacy's leading competitor, Walgreens, ranked 19th over the same time period.[10] CVS sells prescription drugs and a wide assortment of general merchandise, including over-the-counter drugs, beauty products and cosmetics, film and photo finishing services, seasonal merchandise, greeting cards, and convenience foods through their CVS Pharmacy and Longs Drugs retail stores and online through CVS.com. It also provides healthcare services through its more than 1,100 MinuteClinic medical clinics,[11] as well as their Diabetes Care Centers. Most of these clinics are located within or outside CVS stores.
Overview
CVS Pharmacy used to be a subsidiary of Melville Corporation, where its full name was initially as Consumer Value Stores. Melville changed its name to CVS Corporation in 1996[12][13] after Melville sold off many of its stores other than its pharmacies.[14] The last of those operations were sold in 1997.[12]
Former CEO Tom Ryan has said he considers "CVS" to stand for "Customer, Value, and Service".[15]
During the company's days as a regional chain in the Northeast, many CVS stores did not include pharmacies. Today, the company seldom builds new stores without pharmacies and outside of New England is gradually phasing out any such shops.
History
20th century
The name "CVS" was used for the first time in 1964. That year, they had 17 retail locations, and 40 stores five years later.[21]
In 1967, CVS began operation of its first stores with pharmacy departments, opening locations in Warwick and Cumberland, Rhode Island. CVS was acquired by the now-defunct Melville Corporation in 1969, boosting its growth.[22]
As of 1970, CVS operated 100 stores in New England and the Northeast U.S.[23]
In early 1972, CVS introduced America's first refillable plastic bottle with its CVS private-label shampoo. Customers paid 79¢ for a bottle of CVS private-label shampoo and when they returned the empty bottle and cap, could buy another bottle of the same shampoo for 69¢ (a 10¢ saving).
Environmental record
In 2005, CVS participated in a program to reduce the pollution of Maine's waterways. CVS agreed to accept drugs for disposal so that people would not dispose of them in ways that reach rivers and other bodies of waters.[55][56][57]
In 2013, CVS agreed to pay Connecticut $800,000 due to alleged mismanagement of hazardous waste. The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection agency found that CVS had improperly identified, managed, and disposed of hazardous materials.[58]
Controversies
Antitrust concerns
CVS Health has adopted a vertical integration strategy, combining its retail pharmacy business with other sectors of the healthcare industry, such as insurance and pharmacy benefit management (PBM). Vertical integration refers to the consolidation of multiple stages of production or services within a single company, enabling greater control over the supply chain. CVS’s acquisition of Aetna and ownership of PBM CVS Caremark have drawn significant criticism, with opponents arguing that this model monopolizes key aspects of the healthcare market. The three largest PBMs in the United States are UnitedHealth Group's Optum, CVS Health’s CVS Caremark, and Cigna's Express Scripts. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has accused PBMs, including CVS Caremark, of anticompetitive practices such as conflicts of interest and price inflation.[59][60]
See also
External links
References
- Five-Year Financial Summary CVS Health, March 21, 2019, retrieved October 11, 2019^
- CVS Health 2022 Annual Report CVS Health, retrieved 2023-08-10^
- CVS Financials : Q4-2017 CVS Health, February 8, 2018, retrieved 2018-10-29