CVS

NEW YORK — Lumene, a beauty brand from Finland that came to the U.S. beauty market in 2003 through an exclusive deal with CVS/pharmacy, is gearing up for growth in 2011 with revamped formulas and new packaging to better communicate with the U.S. consumer.

Since entering the marketing in 2003, Lumene has garnered an impressive following and has expanded beyond CVS’ store base of about 7,100 stores to roughly 3,400 Walgreens stores, 400 Ulta locations and 103 Sears stores. The brand also is available in select Target, Wegmans, Meijer and Giant Eagle locations.

NEW YORK — The Motley Fool on Tuesday suggested all three national pureplay drug chains were in a better position today than five and three years ago based on a metric called the “cash king margin.”

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — The next chapter for CVS Caremark officially is under way as the company announced on Monday the next stage of its previously announced transition plan and officially named Larry Merlo, president and COO, as CEO, effective March. 1.

Tom Ryan, chairman, president and CEO, will remain nonexecutive chairman until his retirement at the company’s annual meeting of shareholders in May.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — When consumers are offered a cost-neutral choice to fill their 90-day prescription medications in a retail store or through a mail-order pharmacy, they tend to split their preferences, largely depending on their past experiences, according to the findings of a first-of-its-kind study from CVS Caremark.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Caremark has pulled the plug on its plan to hire former Walmart exec Hank Mullany, and is handing the keys to its retail business on an interim basis to Mike Bloom, EVP merchandising and supply chain, and Scott Baker, EVP internal operations and real estate, who will assume management for the company’s 7,100-plus stores.

Bloom and Baker, who will report to Larry Merlo, president and COO of CVS Caremark, are assuming these duties on an interim basis, pending the completion of the company's search for a new president of CVS/pharmacy.

VAN NUYS, Calif. — JocottBrands, a developer and marketer of branded consumer products, is bringing the new Argan Magic hair care line exclusively to CVS/pharmacy.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Caremark's retail-based clinic operator, MinuteClinic, is experiencing exponential gains in utilization and posted a 22% increase in acute visits during the past year, Larry Merlo, CVS Caremark president and COO, told investors Wednesday during the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — While a majority of physicians are comfortable with generic medications, there is a small segment who still have negative perceptions about the effectiveness and quality of generic drugs, and that may lead to doctors prescribing unnecessarily expensive medications, according to a new study by researchers at Harvard University, Brigham and Women's Hospital and CVS Caremark.