CVS

DALLAS – A national coalition of more than 50 leading U.S. companies known as the 100,000 Opportunities Initiative will come together on May 19 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center to host the Dallas Opportunity Fair –  an unprecedented, day-long hiring event aimed at 16-24 year olds who are not in school and unemployed.

NEW YORK — CVS Pharmacy continues to make a concerted effort to transform its stores, with the goal of fostering a better customer experience.

PHOENIX — MinuteClinic, the retail medical clinic of CVS Health, is joining forces with the Dept. of Veterans Affairs, the Phoenix VA Health Care System and TriWest Healthcare Alliance for an initiative that will expand access to high quality and convenient health care services for veterans in Phoenix and surrounding communities.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Health VP merchandising manager of beauty and personal care Alex Perez-Tenessa is leaving after serving the retailer for four years and four months. Drug Store News has learned that he will join Amazon’s Kindle e-books division.

If you could pick only one headline regarding CVS Health over the past year, the conversion of all 1,669 pharmacies and 79 clinics acquired from Target in 2015 to CVS Pharmacy locations would be a good one. To be sure, those efforts are paying off. In the former Target pharmacy locations, script counts are up, CVS Health president and CEO Larry Merlo told analysts during a February earnings call.

Drug chains are editing existing product assortments to clear more space for up-and-coming brands that court back shoppers who may have migrated to specialty stores. Several categories are heating things up in the beauty aisles, especially Korean beauty. Kline research reveals the category is growing at a 30% annual clip, and chains are seeking the right items to introduce more shoppers to the innovative and effective Korean entries.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — The CVS Health Foundation is teaming up with the Truth Initiative to work with students and administrators at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and community colleges across ther country to advoate for, adopt and implement 100% smoke- and tobacco-free campus policies.

PITTSBURGH — Larry J. Merlo, president and CEO of CVS Health, will be the featured speaker for the University of Pittsburgh’s graduate student commencement convocation at 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 29. Merlo, a Pitt alumnus and University trustee, was named Pitt’s 2016 Distinguished Alumni Fellow, the University’s premier alumni honor, which recognizes extraordinary professional achievements. In 2010, he received Pitt School of Pharmacy’s Distinguished Alumni Award, and in 2008 was named a Legacy Laureate.