CVS 2000 Annual Report Download - page 16

They can pick up their purchases at the nearest CVS/
pharmacy or have them delivered to their homes.
In only its second year of operation, the CVS.com
site has been significantly enhanced and is on its way
to profitability by no later than 2002. In fact, in recent
Gomez rankings, CVS.com was ranked among the top
pharmacy sites.
About 70% of CVS.com’s pharmacy customers
choose in-store pickup of their prescriptions. In mar-
kets where we have stores, however, more than 90%
choose in-store pickup, indicating the significance of
a “clicks and mortar”strategy.
We have entered into two important strategic
partnerships, with Merck-Medco and WebMD.
We now have the exclusive right to sell over-the-
counter medications, such as vitamins, herbal
remedies and health and beauty aids, to Merck-
Medco.com customers, gaining exposure to Merck-
Medco’s 53 million members nationwide, many of
whom are in areas west of the Mississippi where
CVS does not yet have a presence. Early sales from
the site are robust. WebMD became our exclusive
provider of health
content, providing
our customers with
Internet access to reli-
able health-related
information from
expert sources.
We made the deci-
sion in 2000 to relocate
CVS.com’s operations
to our headquarters
in Rhode Island to
better leverage our
existing retail support
infrastructure and to
accelerate our path
to profitability. Our vision for this fast-growing new
business includes providing a vehicle for physicians
to write prescriptions and send them directly to
pharmacies via the Internet. We are working toward
a total e-connectivity solution that will improve
healthcare delivery by directly linking physicians,
pharmacists and patients
over the Internet. In the
long term, we will roll
out additional pro-
grams that will link our
Internet business with
our stores in order to
deliver greater value
to customers.
Our private label vitamins, herbal remedies
and nutritional supplements are available
not just in our stores, but online as well.
Customers who get their film developed at
CVS can have their pictures uploaded to
the Kodak Picture Center® at CVS.com,
a popular and fast-growing service.
…in America.
“At CVS, we believe it is
important to become part of
every community we serve,
supporting healthcare and
educational initiatives,
and training thousands of
workers through the
Welfare-to-Work program.”
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CVS Corporation