CVS PHARMACY: Opens First Standalone Retail Locations in Oregon

CVS Pharmacy issued the following announcement on Oct. 29.

CVS Pharmacy, the retail division of CVS Health (NYSE: CVS), celebrated the grand opening of its first-ever standalone store in Oregon with a ribbon cutting ceremony today. The new store at 105 NW 13th Ave in Portland, OR, is the first of three retail locations to open in the Greater Portland market in 2019, with one more store opening in 2020.

"We are excited to open our first store in the state of Oregon. We are honored to have the ability to serve the Portland community with our best in class pharmacy services and a curated assortment of health, beauty, and convenience products," said Kevin Hourican, EVP, CVS Health & President CVS Pharmacy. "Our purpose as a company is to help people on their path to better health.  We welcome the opportunity to bring this purpose to life in Portland."

To mark CVS Pharmacy's entrance to the Portland market and reaffirm the company's commitment to investing in the communities it serves and improving local health outcomes, CVS Health also announced that it will be providing a $15,000 corporate grant to the North by Northeast Community Health Center, a non-profit clinic providing high-quality health care to low-income adults in Portland. The grant will go towards building healthier communities by helping North by Northeast extend their primary care and health screening services to East County.

Since CVS Pharmacy became the first and only retail pharmacy to remove tobacco from its shelves in 2014, the company has continued to evolve the customer's shopping experience with a heightened focus on health, beauty and self-care.  The new Portland stores will feature:

• Best in Class Pharmacy: With personalized programs, a growing network of pharmacists, and innovative digital tools and services, CVS Pharmacy is committed to driving the health and wellbeing of its patients above everything else. With CVS Pharmacy, customers can manage their health with more ease and efficiency and gain access to programs that help them start and stay on their prescriptions while reducing overall health care costs. With the CVS Pharmacy app, patients can be notified when prescriptions are ready for pick-up and order refills digitally by importing their medication history or using the "Scan to Refill" feature that simply scans the prescription's barcode and orders a refill in one easy step. Plus, knowledgeable pharmacy staff are always on hand to counsel patients.
  
  
• Enhanced assortment of health and wellness products: CVS Pharmacy is committed to being a trusted partner in health and holistic wellness. The company recently introduced more than 300 new products across self-care and proactive wellness categories like nutrition, cognitive, mood and sleep therapies to make it more convenient and accessible for the more than 5 million Americans who shop CVS daily to treat themselves and their loved ones well. CVS stores also feature a broader selection of vitamins and supplements, including brands previously only found in specialty stores. With its recently launched "Tested to Be Trusted" initiative, CVS is the first and only national retailer to implement a program requiring third-party testing of ingredient listings for all vitamins and supplements sold in-store and online, and testing for certain ingredients of concern.
  
  
• Convenient access to trends and coveted brands: CVS Pharmacy offers both popular and unexpected beauty brands and products customers can trust at a great value. The company has spent the last few years extending its beauty offerings to include a range of premium cosmetic and skincare lines and niche products that meet diverse customer needs. In 2017, the company removed all sun care products with SPF lower than 15 from its shelves and announced an initiative to reformulate nearly 600 store brand beauty and personal care products to remove parabens, phthalates and formaldehyde donors. Most recently, CVS launched its Beauty Mark initiative to lead positive change around transparency in the beauty industry and ensure customers can differentiate between authentic and materially altered imagery.
  
  
• Better-For-You Food options: CVS Pharmacy has a carefully curated selection of national and niche better-for-you brands that make healthier eating on-the-go more convenient and affordable. After being the first national retail pharmacy to remove artificial trans fats from its exclusive store brands foods in early 2017, CVS Pharmacy is continuing its commitment to customers' health by expanding the assortment, volume and shelf space dedicated to better-for-you foods offered nationwide. A variety of foods fitting specific dietary needs and preferences are available including foods that are gluten-free, USDA organic, allergen friendly, plant based and more.
  
  
• Customer-Driven Personalization: The ExtraCare Rewards program is the longest running retail rewards program in the drugstore space with more than 77 million active members in the country. Nearly one in four Americans have an ExtraCare card, and the program continues to evolve with new updates and personalized features – like special offers and coupons, and easy paper-free options such as in-app manufacturer coupons and digital receipts. In addition to getting 2 percent back in ExtraBucks Rewards on nearly every dollar spent, customers can also opt-in to Beauty Club, where members can get $3 ExtraBucks Rewards when spending $30 on beauty products, as well as Pharmacy & Health Rewards, where members earn up to $50 in rewards each year by simply filling prescriptions at CVS Pharmacy.
  
  
• A Membership For Your Non-stop Life: CarePass is a paid membership program that helps make it easier for customers to take care of themselves and their families, and the first loyalty program that offers free national pharmacy delivery. For a $5 monthly membership fee, CarePass members get free 1-2 day delivery for eligible purchases on CVS.com and qualifying prescription drug orders through USPS, a 20% discount on eligible CVS Health brand products in-store and online, and they also get access to a 24/7 pharmacist helpline to help them save time and money while getting the care they need, and, as a thank you, members receive a $10 promo reward to spend each month.

Throughout the state of Oregon, CVS Pharmacy already has a presence in 19 pharmacies, located within Target stores. The new Portland store represents the first standalone CVS Pharmacy retail location in Oregon, and three additional Portland-area locations will open later this year, with an additional store opening in 2020. A full list of all stores in the area are below:

• 105 NW 13th Ave, Portland, OR 97209, opening in 2019
• 8145 SE 17th Ave, Portland, OR 97202, opening in 2019
• 345 SW Harrison Street, Portland, OR 97201, opening in 2019
• 12555 NW Cornell Road, Portland OR 97229, opening in 2020

About CVS Pharmacy
CVS Pharmacy, the retail division of CVS Health (NYSE: CVS), is America's leading retail pharmacy with over 9,900 locations. It is the first national pharmacy to end the sale of tobacco and the first pharmacy in the nation to receive the Community Pharmacy accreditation from URAC, the leading health care accreditation organization that establishes quality standards for the health care industry. CVS Pharmacy is reinventing pharmacy to help people on their path to better health by providing the most accessible and personalized expertise, both in its stores and online at CVS.com. General information about CVS Pharmacy and CVS Health is available at www.cvshealth.com.

Original source can be found here.