CVS Plans to Open 600 HealthHUB Stores in 2020
CVS Health is on track to meet its goal of rehabbing more than 1,000 of its stores, CNBC reported. At the end of 2018, CVS launched three of its HealthHUB concept stores in the Houston region, before expanding the program to 50 locations in four markets by the end of 2019. Hundreds more are scheduled to be overhauled by the end of 2020. The HealthHUB concept stores offer a range of health services and wellness products for everyday care and chronic conditions with the goal to make CVS a "healthcare destination." CVS Health CEO Larry Merlo told CNBC that the retailer is seeing positive early results from the HealthHUB concept stores, with growing interest from consumers and increased foot traffic in stores. Boston, Dallas-Fort Worth, North Carolina and Ohio are some of the markets that CVS is targeting for its HealthHUB expansion this year.
Total Retail's Take: In 2018, CVS acquired health care insurance company Aetna in an effort to establish itself as the nation's premier health innovation company. The expansion of its HealthHUB concept stores are one more step in that direction. The intersection of healthcare and retail is becoming more commonplace. CVS rival Walgreens is also adjusting its strategy to focus more on health, and both retailers have a goal of getting more foot traffic into their stores. It will be interesting to see how the brands differentiate themselves and how consumers respond to more choice for their healthcare needs. CVS is banking on convenience winning out.
Ashley Chiaradio is the Senior Content Strategist at Total Retail. Ashley has been creating content for more than 7 years, and provides a unique insight in covering the retail industry having worked directly for retailers in the past. She’s passionate about profiling women leadership in the space.
