Woonsocket, R.I. — CVS Health plans to close 22 underperforming drugstores during the first quarter of 2020. The pharmacy chain is shifting its model to provide more healthcare services.
In its third quarter results of 2019, the Rhode Island-based drugstore giant reported a 36.5% increase in revenue from $47.3 billion in 2018 to $64.8 this year. During 2018, CVS closed 46 underperforming stores and acquired health insurance and Medicare company Aetna for approximately $70 billion. The integrated companies moved forward with major asset redevelopments, including a “hub-and-spoke” model wherein smaller retail stores function as outposts for central hub stores with greater pharmaceutical inventory and treatment capabilities.
CVS operates approximately 9,900 stores in the United States and specific locations of the closing stores were undisclosed.
— Alex Patton