Business

CVS Health Launches Health, Beauty Makeover for Drugstores

Published

9 years ago

June 18, 2015

This June 20, 2011 photo shows signage at a CVS store in Philadelphia. CVS drugstores that quit tobacco sales last year are now getting health and beauty makeovers to attract customers who want more than a prescription refill, the nations second-largest drugstore chain said Wednesday, June 17, 2015. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

TOM MURPHY, AP Business Writer

CVS drugstores that quit tobacco sales last year are now getting health and beauty makeovers and a shot of ethnic diversity in some cases to attract customers who want more than a prescription refill.

The nation’s second-largest drugstore chain said Wednesday that it is adding fresh foods, healthy snacks and expanded beauty options to many of its locations. It also is testing a new format designed for stores that serve Hispanic populations.

CVS Health Corp. executives say these changes reflect customer demand. They also could help perk up store sales outside the pharmacy area that have slumped since the company phased out tobacco last September.

The push from CVS reflects similar expansions by rivals Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. and Rite Aid Corp. into selling healthier foods and more beauty items. Drugstores have been focusing more for a few years now on customizing their stores to what shoppers in a specific market want instead of simply building new locations.

They’ve also added clinics and expanded their health care services in part to get more business from aging baby boomers and people who are gaining insurance coverage through the federal health care overhaul. And drugstores are offering a wider array of products outside the pharmacy to satisfy customers who want to make fewer stops when they go shopping.

“Health and beauty, in particular, is very high profit margin, and CVS has always been a leader there,” said Jeff Jonas, a portfolio manager who follows the industry for Gabelli Funds.

CVS Health, which recently announced a partnership with Target Corp. to expand its health care business, runs about 7,800 drugstores nationwide

The Woonsocket, Rhode Island-based chain said Wednesday that it is adding fresh and refrigerated foods to about 500 of its stores and bulking up on healthier snacks chainwide. Bagged candy, which occupies the first aisle in many stores, is being moved back and replaced with nuts, trail mixes and granola, among other items.

“Consumers used to eat three meals a day, and now they tend to be snacking through the day, and they’re really looking for a convenient location which gives them access to healthier foods,” Executive Vice President Helena Foulkes said.

CVS started adding groceries to some urban stores a few years ago to serve customers who don’t have easy access to a supermarket. The company recently started testing a new wrinkle to that themed concept with a dozen, mostly remodeled stores named CVS/pharmacy y mas in South Florida.

These stores are staffed by bilingual workers and sell brands popular with Hispanic customers as well as products like espresso makers and rice cookers. They also sell an espresso-style coffee called Cafecito in their pharmacies. CVS designed the concept based on insights it gained after buying the small Navarro Discount Pharmacy chain last year.

The company also is adding more beauty products and improving the look of that section in many of its stores.

Foulkes said health and beauty sales have grown 25 percent faster over the last three years than general merchandise and edibles in the front of their stores, or the area outside the pharmacy. Bulking up on beauty caters to women, who make up 80 percent of their store customer base.

“They see beauty as being part of their definition of health,” Foulkes said. “Women talk a lot about feeling good and looking good.”

CVS Health declined to detail how much it is spending on all the changes. The investment is focused on an area of the company’s business that could use a boost.

Revenue from the front end of the company’s established drugstores, or the area outside the pharmacy, has slipped the past couple of quarters. It was down 6 percent in the first quarter but would have risen about 2 percent without the loss of revenue brought in by tobacco.

Retailers don’t make a lot of money off tobacco, but it draws customers who often pick up other items like a can of soda or a snack when they visit.

CVS draws most of its drugstore revenue from its pharmacies. Most of its corporate revenue comes from running one of the nation’s largest pharmacy benefits management businesses, which handles prescription drug plans for employers, insurers and other customers.

Company shares climbed 65 cents to $103.82 Wednesday, slightly outpacing broader trading indexes.

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Oakland Post: Week of November 27 – December 3, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 27 – December 3, 2024, 2024

Published

4 days ago

November 30, 2024

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

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Black History

Emeline King: A Trailblazer in the Automotive Industry

Emeline King is recognized as the first African American female transportation designer at the Ford Motor Company. Let’s take a look at her life and career at the Ford Motor Company.

Published

1 week ago

November 26, 2024

Oakland Post

Transportation designer Emeline King. Photo courtesy of Emeline King.

By Tamara Shiloh

Emeline King is recognized as the first African American female transportation designer at the Ford Motor Company.

Let’s take a look at her life and career at the Ford Motor Company.

King’s fascination with cars began during her childhood. Growing up, she was captivated by the sleek designs and mechanical complexities of automobiles. She loved playing with toy cars and considered it an insult if anyone gave her a doll.

King pursued her interest in cars by studying at the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena. There, she improved her skills in transportation design, gaining the technical expertise and artistic vision she needed to break into the male-dominated industry.

However, her true inspiration came from her father, Earnest O. King, Sr., who worked for Ford as a Fabrication Specialist. She remembered the father-daughter trips to the auto shows, and the Saturday mornings with the famous Black sculptor, Oscar Graves, who her father assisted in some of his commissioned art works.

She said Graves would mentor her in clay relief sculptures. She was always fascinated by the smell of clay that was a constant in his studio.

However, it was her ﬁrst visit to her father’s job that became the catalyst for King to want a career in transportation design. At the company’s annual employee Christmas parties, she got the chance to meet his co-workers and learned about the roles they played in the auto industry. It was a chance to see some great cars, too.

Her career at Ford began in the 1980s, when women — particularly women of color –were scarcely represented in the automotive industry. King’s role at Ford was groundbreaking, as she became the first African American woman to work as a transportation designer at the company.

At Ford Design, she worked on the Ford Mustang SN-95’s interior. She also made several design contributions on other vehicles, too, including the interior components of the 1989 Thunderbird, the 1989 Corporate Steering Wheel, the 1989 Thunderbird Wheel/Wheel cover design program, the 1990 Thunderbird Super Coupe, the 1993 Mach III, the 1994 Mustang, to name a few.

King also served three foreign assignments: Turin Italy; Koln, Germany; and Brentwood, Essex, England — designing Ford cars for Europe.

Leaving Ford after about 25 years of service and along with her many speaking engagements, she wrote an autobiography about being Ford’s first female African American transportation designer titled, “What Do You Mean A Black Girl Can’t Design Cars? She Did It!”

She’s quoted as saying, “I’m now so proud to have written a book that I hope will inspire young girls and boys to never give up. To influence them so that they can stay focused and alert, and so they never look back. There are mentors who are placed in our lives to serve as our ‘Bridges to Destinations’ and allow us to cross over them to reach our dreams. Hoping they gain inspiration from my book, my motto for them is simple: ‘OPPORTUNITY IS NOW, SO GRAB IT! IF I DID IT, SO CAN YOU!”

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OCCUR Hosts “Faith Forward” Conference in Oakland

The conference featured Congresswoman-elect Lateefah Simon, who will begin her term representing California’s 12th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives in January.
Simon was honored with a special recognition from OCCUR for her civic and nonprofit leadership.

Published

1 week ago

November 24, 2024

Oakland Post

President and CEO of OCCUR addresses the audience at OCCUR Faith Forward 2024 Conference at Resurrection Church. Photo by Carla Thomas.

By Carla Thomas

The Oakland Citizens Committee for Urban Renewal (OCCUR) hosted its Faith Forward 2024 Conference on Nov. 8 at Resurrection Church in Oakland.

The conference featured Congresswoman-elect Lateefah Simon, who will begin her term representing California’s 12^th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives in January.

Simon was honored with a special recognition from OCCUR for her civic and nonprofit leadership. During her remarks, She commended nonprofits making a difference, and shared how she looked forward to representing Oakland and surrounding areas.

Simon also encouraged attendees to continue fighting despite their concerns about the presidential election results. She also cautioned that there may be resources that are discontinued as a result.

“We know the assignment. We have many of the resources right within our own community, and we will be ok,” Simon assured the audience.

The conference led by OCCUR president, Dr. David B. Franklin, also featured panels on funding opportunities, case studies, economic development, sustainable housing solutions, and organizing for action.

“In order for organizations serving the community to thrive, everyone must collaborate, share resources, and not operate in silos,” said Franklin.

Speakers included San Francisco Foundation CEO, Fred Blackwell, San Francisco Foundation FAITHS Program Director Dr. Michelle Chambers, and Kingmakers of Oakland Founder, Chris Chatmon. Guests were briefed on how Kingmakers of Oakland has gone from a budget of zero to several million and is set to acquire 200 acres of property to expand their programs serving young boys. The leadership at the San Francisco Foundation encouraged nonprofits, churches, and community leaders to work together, especially when donations and funding numbers are lower.

Ben Bartlett of Berkeley City Council; Trevor Parham, CEO of Oakstop; and CEO of the Lao Family Community Development, Inc., Kathy Chao Rothberg, inspired attendees with stories about their journeys in the nonprofit sector.

Additional speakers included Deka Dike, CEO of Omatachi; Landis Green, CEO of DGS Strategies; Sasha Werblin, Director of Economic Development, LISC Bay Area; Oakland City Councilmember Treva Reid; Faith and Justice Organizer of East Bay Housing Organizations, Ronnie Boyd; and Todd Bendon, Executive Director of Faith in Action East Bay; among others.

The event allowed community leaders, faith-based leaders, and nonprofits to gain Insight on how to strengthen their profits financially, and communally.

OCCUR has served the community for over 70 years supporting the wellbeing of historically marginalized communities with collaborative strategies. For more information visit occurnow.org