The country's largest drugstore chain is sinking new roots in the West, transforming 541 former Longs Drugs into CVS Pharmacy stores.
At least 50 are in the Sacramento region.
The Woonsocket, R.I.-based CVS Caremark Corp. purchased the Longs chain in 2008, expanding its presence into California, Nevada, Arizona and Hawaii.
"The big thing is customers will be working with the same staff," said Jill Gridley, district manager for the Sacramento region.
CVS rehired 98 percent of the employees, including pharmacists, who had worked for Longs, she said.
Without closing any stores or disrupting the business day, CVS has been remodeling and restocking the Longs stores and will be finished for a November promotional splash, Gridley said.
The company, which just opened its 7,000th store, has become expert at converting stores while doing business because it has grown primarily through acquisitions, she said. The company bought 1,300 Eckerd Stores in 2004.
The first CVS opened in 1963 in Lowell, Mass., and the early ones were called Consumer Value Stores.
For shoppers, cosmetic changes include the company's trademark wall-to-wall carpeting and in most stores, shelving stacked no higher than 60 inches.
The lower shelving is designed to give core customers � women, average height of 5 feet 3 inches � a better view of the inventory, she said.
In the CVS store on K Street in midtown Sacramento, Gridley showed off the expanded grocery section and a photo center with sit-down computers for projects as extensive as a photo calendar or as quick as a single photo.
The drugstore will also offer customers a chance to sign up for cards that generate rebates. Last year, the company paid back $1.8 billion to 55 million card holders, Gridley said.
Like other drugstores, CVS is expanding on-site health clinics, which have nurse practitioners who can do some vaccinations and take care of minor ailments.
At least 500 of the stores have the centers.
In the Sacramento market, CVS is up against Rite Aid, with 22 stores in the city of Sacramento, and the Walgreen Co., with 30 stores in the area.
Compared with other retail stores, drugstores are faring better during the recession because they provide necessities, analysts say.
CVS Caremark Corp. reported $24.9 billion in net revenue in the second quarter of this year, an increase from the $21.1 billion reported during the same quarter of 2008.
The company fills 17 percent of the nation's prescriptions, according to Morningstar Inc., which tracks CVS.
Gridley said the company would likely expand in California by building new stores, but she could not say when.
Source Sac Bee
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