CVS Health plans to open five new locations in Chicago this year — but don’t expect to see chips, candy or nail polish for sale.
The new locations — on the South, West and Southwest Sides — will offer only pharmacy services, unlike the larger stores the company is known for. The sites represent a new trick for CVS, as retail pharmacies continue to struggle with how to best serve customers who are increasingly buying everyday items and medications online.
CVS Health leaders say the new locations are also meant to ensure better access to pharmacy services in communities that face a lack of options.
CVS opened the first locations in Brighton Park on Monday at 2628 W. Pershing Road. Four more locations will open this summer on South King Drive, East 71st Street, East 95th Street and West Grand Ave.
“We’re looking for geographies that don’t have access to pharmacy care,” said Lynn Shankman, CVS CEO and director of pharmacy and consumer wellness, who took part in a news conference Monday at the Brighton Park location.
Although there are other pharmacies within a few miles of the new location, the distance can be a challenge for people who don’t have a car or rely on public transportation, Shenkman said. About 14,000 people live within a half-mile of the new CVS pharmacy, he said. “It’s really a walkable destination for a large population in this area.”
In all, CVS plans to open just 20 pharmacies nationwide this year.
The 3,000-square-foot Brighton Park location opened earlier this month. The front of the pharmacy is compact, with four stations for dropping off and picking up medications, a few seats by the window and a small consultation room for vaccinations.
The pharmacy also sells over-the-counter medications such as Tylenol and Miralex — but they are behind the counter, meaning customers must ask a member of staff to pick them up.
Signs are in English and Spanish, and the staff is bilingual, reflecting the area, which is largely Latino.
“It means a lot to me that CVS is investing in creating equity and equality in health,” Ald. Julia Ramirez, 12, who was born and raised in Brighton Park, said at the news conference. “This is an immigrant community … so I appreciate not only the access and the equality and equity of these facilities but also the language access here.”
U.S. Representative Sean Caston said at a news conference Monday that he was reluctant to open new CVS locations even as the federal government makes dramatic changes to health care.
“It’s obviously been a really tough couple of years for our health care system,” said Caston, a Democrat who represents Illinois’ 6th Congressional District. “… It’s important to get the private sector to step up, even if the federal government is lagging behind.”
The new locations also represent a change in direction for the retail pharmacy giant, which along with Walgreens has faced challenges in recent years related to the prices it pays for drugs as well as competition from online stores and pharmacies.
CVS announced plans to cut $2 billion in costs by 2024, and last year planned to close 271 stores nationwide. CVS closed 10 Illinois stores last year and 16 last year.
Similarly, Deerfield-based Walgreens announced in 2024 that it Plans to close 1,200 stores Across the country as it grapples with financial losses. Those closings last year included at least five stores on Chicago’s south and west sides — a move that criticize from local leaders.
A few years ago, Walgreens also opened a number of smaller format stores, CNBC reported.
Walgreens, that was Sold to private equity firm Sycamore Partners And went private last year, not responding to requests for comment on Monday.
In addition to the 20 pharmacy-only locations, CVS also plans to open about nine more brick-and-mortar locations this year, as well as about 35 locations inside Target stores.
“Given that Walgreens recently went private and closed a lot of stores, it makes sense that there would be an opportunity for CVS to expand into that space a bit,” said John Harmon, senior analyst at Corsight Research.
Small format stores have become a trend in other areas of retail as well. Target, for example, has a number of smaller stores across the country.
“America is overstocked, I think,” Harmon said, adding that small-format stores can be more efficient, nimble and “more local to neighborhoods.”
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