CVS

You could call it a retail all-star team.

With just weeks to go before its annual Industry Issues Summit conference — one of the most highly-anticipated, must-attend events on the drug store industry calendar — Drug Store News has announced another top-tier roster of some of the most talented and creative retail executives in the business for the annual thought-leadership/networking event.

CVS Health rocked the industry in 2014 when it removed cigarettes and tobacco from its pharmacy shelves in an effort to promote health and reduce chronic illnesses associated with tobacco-use. Now, the retailer is taking yet another stance against tobacco-use with a hefty $50 million initiative to help deliver the nation’s first tobacco-free generation.

(To download Special Report: Double Down on Health, click here.)

Who’s leading the retail health revolution? One of the chief innovators in the transformation of U.S. health care is surely CVS Health.

(To download Special Report: Double Down on Health, click here.)

Digital engagement is an integral part of CVS Health’s growth strategy, and for good reason. The digital customer at CVS spends 4.5 times more and engages with the CVS brand six times more than non-digital customers do.

(To download Special Report: Double Down on Health, click here.)

The ExtraCare loyalty program has grown to become CVS Health’s crown jewel. In 2015, the program — now in its 15th year — helped drive nearly $4 billion in savings for its roughly 70 million active cardholders. More important, it has emerged as the key engine driving CVS Health’s personalization efforts — a critical component of the company’s five-pillar strategy to reenergize its front-end business.

Anyone without a clear vision of the link between wellness and beauty hasn’t heard CVS Health’s VP/merchandise manager for beauty and personal care Alex Perez-Tenessa describe the synergy.

(To download Special Report: Double Down on Health, click here.)

The health-beauty connection is a driving force for the company as it continues rolling out its new “Elevate Beauty” concept, which is now in about 2,000 of its stores.

This isn’t your parents’ private-label business any more. To be sure, the rules of the store brand game have changed over the years — price matters, but it certainly isn’t the only factor driving the growing consumer interest in private label that exists today.

(To download Special Report: Double Down on Health, click here.)