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Timeline A timeline of CVS Health
The largest specialty pharmacy in the USA started out as a single store, where CVS Health established its dedication to the heart of a patient's health. Through a combination of a local presence, digital channels and more than 300,000 physicians, pharmacists and nurses, CVS Health has spent 50 years transforming communities.
1963
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The first CVS store opens The first CVS shop, ‘Consumer Value Stores’, was opened in Lowell, Massachusetts, by brothers Stanley and Sidney Goldstein alongside their partner, Ralph Hoagland. The store sold assorted health and beauty products, soon going on to open another 17 stores, before being bought by Melville Corporation.
1978
CVS Health opens stores in shopping malls By the 1970s, CVS was running over 100 stores across the Northeast, especially following its acquisition of 84 Clinton Drug and Discount Stores. The brand, which started out as a single shop, transformed into a household name. In 1978, CVS Health continued to stand out from its contemporaries by opening stores inside shopping malls.
1988
750 stores As the AIDS crisis raged around them, CVS Health continued to support customers in meeting their health and beauty needs. Co-Founder Stanley Goldstein is named President and COO of the Melville Corporation, and then becomes chairman – running 750 stores by CVS Health’s 25th birthday, with sales of an astonishing US$1.6bn in 1988.
2020 2022
CVS Health’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic
While not responsible for creating vaccines, CVS Health was a familiar brand many looked to for answers during a frightening time. The company became America’s largest private provider of COVID-19 testing and donated US$50mn to support those in need due to the impact of the pandemic.
Reducing the ‘tampon tax’
In September last year, CVS Health announced that it would eliminate the ‘tampon tax’ in some states, reducing the costs of some menstrual products by 25%. Michelle Peluso, CVS Health’s CCO, said she hoped that other businesses would be inspired to follow their example and help women on their path to better health.
