Dive Brief:
- CVS Caremark has announced that it has struck a definitive agreement to acquire Miami-based Navarro Discount pharmacy, the largest Hispanic-owned drugstore in the U.S.
- The deal includes Navarro's 33 retail drugstores and Navarro Health Services, a specialty pharmacy for patients with complex or chronic illnesses. Navarro has annual sales in excess of $340 million.
- This is a relatively small addition to CVS's network of more than 7,600 stores and 800 MinuteClinic locations, but the acquisition could help it reach out to the growing U.S. Hispanic population.
- CVS also announced that it has formed new clinical collaborations with four major healthcare providers, including ProHealth Physicians in Connecticut, Texas Health Resource in Texas, Palmetto Health in South Carolina and The Baton Rouge Clinic in Louisana.
Dive Insight:
In purchasing a Hispanic drugstore chain, CVS is planting a seed which should help it bolster its attractiveness to the growing U.S. Hispanic market. While Navarro's network is small, it could prove a wellspring of knowledge for marketing to this population, which should rise from 14% of the U.S. population to 29% by 2050, according to Pew Research.
The clinical alliances, meanwhile, will bring support, chronic disease exams and counseling regarding medications prescribed to patients, in the process building new CVS/pharmacy relationships. Patients will be linked up with wellness programs at CVS/pharmacy and its retail clinic chain Minute Clinic. This should be a win for both sides; the clinical organizations could improve patient health through added pharmacy supports, and the CVS/pharmacy stores are likely to make additional drug and sundries sales by bringing new patients to their locations.