CVS will close unprofitable stores as it develops new HealthHUBs

CVS Health will close some unprofitable sites and reorganize approximately 15% of its 9,800 stores to focus more on health services, a senior executive told the company's investor meeting in New York on Tuesday.

CVS plans to turn 1,500 sites by 2021 into its new HealthHUB format, which offers services such as health screenings and blood tests. He also plans to open new stores in "high-growth markets" as well as in areas of the country where he is not present, such as the Pacific Northwest, said CVS pharmacy president Kevin Hourican.

"We will also close stores," he said, noting that CVS had closed "several hundred" in recent years, after the company stopped selling cigarettes in 2014 and lost most of its business. sales. Leases on about 500 sites need to be renewed annually and are regularly reviewed to determine their profitability, he said.

"As these stores mature, we will carefully evaluate our best financial options for these specific locations, with the goal of improving our overall fleet productivity," he said.

In May, CVS announced its decision to close 46 underperforming stores. Hourican told CNBC in another interview Monday that he was not planning any "significant" closures this year.

"When our leases are renewed (…), we will evaluate each of these sites in order to determine the best possible result for the global environment from the point of view of profit improvement", he declares.