CVS pharmacy y más taps local vendors, sets sights on national expansion
CVS pharmacy y más stores feature fully bilingual employees and signage, and more than… more
CVS Health has created a two-way relationship with South Florida's Hispanic community with the debut of its CVS pharmacy y más brand.
The specially stores aren't solely accepting transactions from the demographics they're aiming to attract, they're also bringing new business to some of South Florida's Hispanic-owned companies.
At each of its 12 locations, CVS pharmacy y más has an inventory that includes about 1,500 Hispanic products — many curated from Miami-area distributors including Conchita Foods in Medley, Goya Foods in Miami, Alfa Vitamins in Doral, Sunshine Naturals in Miami, Sunshine Bottling in Doral and Iberia Foods in Miami. Some are based here, others have local distribution centers and employ area workers.
These vendors and their products were selected for CVS pharmacy y más because they typically sell well at Miami's Navarro Discount Pharmacy stores, said Vincente Urrutia, vice president of store operations at Navarro Discount Pharmacy.Notably, Goya Goods is one of the top Hispanic-owned businesses in the U.S. and manufactures more than 2,000 products. Conchita Foods is a owned by the second and third generations of a Cuban exile and has grown its product line to about 150 items.
"With Navarro [Discount Pharmacy] having had a very long history in Miami, we took the products that are most successful there," Urrutia told the South Florida Business Journal about the selection process. "CVS y más is really the best of CVS pharmacy and the best of Navarro [Discount Pharmacy]."
Rhode Island-based CVS Health gained key insights into what it would take to create a successful Navarro Discount Pharmacy-CVS pharmacy hybrid after acquiring the South Florida-based brand in September, said Gabriel Navarro, chief of Hispanic consumer growth at CVS pharmacy.
The plan is to expand the new brand nationally, which will be a boon to the Hispanic business communities where CVS pharmacy y más stores end up."More than 50 percent of the population growth will come from Hispanics over the next 10 years," Navarro said. "That's driving us to figure out how to best tailor our stores for those communities and make it most relevant to them."
"This is certainly a pilot market for us," said Urrutia. "The customers are pleased with what they've seen so far and we look forward to the results as we expand it where Hispanic populations are growing."
There's no timeline yet for exactly when the brand will expand, Navarro said.
CVS pharmacy y más stores first began opening in April and the last opened mid-May. The stores feature fully bilingual employees who wear nametags that include the country where they're from, signage in both Spanish and English, and other offerings geared to draw in Hispanic shoppers.
CVS pharmacy (NYSE: CVS) has more than 7,800 locations and is the retail division of CVS Health. Navarro Discount Pharmacy has 33 locations and is owned by CVS Health.
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