I have previously discussed about CVS, one of the leading pharmacy network in the US, as they have decided to shut down their tabacco activities due to uncompatibility between this category and their brand image. They hence turned down $2 billions in sales by this move. Recently the Times published an article on their new strategy and their CEO Larry Merlo.
CVS, as a nationwide pharmacist takes a large responsability in its role for the society: "He thinks CVS can save lives - and hundreds of billions of dollars in unnecessary health care costs annualy - by efficiently treating Americans' routine sniffles and aches, nudging them to take better care of themselves and making sure they take their medications when they're supposed to.
Most of the time, Europeans are joking about US pharmacy as they can shop for beers, milk or chips, something unconceivable in Europe. But I highly like the way CVS is working on its stores in order to adapt to the changes in the way health care is dealt in the US, especially since the Obama Care is effective.
The developpement of Minute Clinic
Minute Clinic is an initiative to provide health care advices in store in order to ease the access to medicine. They use big data in order to access the information of patients in order to provide a clear diagnostic to the patient in order to heal him.
Obviously, while discussing about category management, the health care business is far from being the same from fmcg. But what I like about CVS actions in term of category management, is that their choices are meant to fulfill a clear strategy. A strategy which is actually in harmony with what the stakeholders really need.
