company previously named cvs caremark . for the subsidiary currently named cvs caremark see cvs caremark . this article may need to be rewritten entirely to comply with wikipedia s quality standards . you can help . the discussion page may contain suggestions . july 2016 cvs health formerly called cvs corporation cvs caremark corporation type public traded as nyse cvs industry retail health care predecessor melville corporation 1922 96 founded 1996 ; 20 years ago 1996 in woonsocket rhode island u.s. headquarters woonsocket rhode island u.s. area served united states key people david w. dorman non executive chairman larry merlo president and ceo revenue us 153.29 billion 2015 1 operating income us 9.454 billion 2015 1 net income us 5.237 billion 2015 1 total assets us 93.657 billion 2015 1 total equity us 37.196 billion 2015 1 number of employees 137 800 2015 1 subsidiaries cvs pharmacy cvs caremark cvs speciality minuteclinic website cvshealth.com cvs health previously named cvs corporation and cvs caremark corporation stylized as cvshealth is an american retail and health care company headquartered in woonsocket rhode island . it was originally named cvs corporation and was formed after the spinning off of cvs pharmacy from its original holding company melville corporation in 1996 . it later acquired the pharmacy benefit management company caremark rx and was consequently renamed cvs caremark corporation in 2007 . the company was renamed cvs health in 2014 and since which time has operated the subsidiaries cvs pharmacy cvs caremark cvs speciality and the retail clinic minuteclinic . in 2014 it ranked 10th on the fortune 500 and 35th on the fortune global 500 list . 2 3 4 contents 1 history 2 subsidiaries 3 name 4 community involvement 5 criticism and controversy 5.1 elensys 5.2 boston prescriptions 5.3 health and medicare fraud 5.4 pharmaceutical kickbacks 5.5 deceptive business practices 5.6 rhode island senate corruption case 5.7 business practices under investigation 5.8 ftc charges 5.9 ftc deceptive pricing charges 5.10 dea investigation into oxycodone diversion 5.11 restatements 5.12 tobacco product sales discontinued 5.13 opioid crisis 6 see also 7 references 8 external links history edit this section contains embedded lists that may be better presented using prose . you can help by converting the list or lists to prose if appropriate . editing help is available . january 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message the first cvs store selling health and beauty products was founded in lowell mass . by brothers stanley and sidney goldstein and scandinavian american ralph hoagland in 1963 . in 1964 cvs had 17 stores that sold primarily health and beauty products . 5 in 1967 cvs began operation of its first stores with pharmacy departments opening locations in warwick and cumberland r.i. in 1969 cvs was sold to melville corporation . by 1970 cvs operated 100 stores in new england and the northeast . in 1972 cvs nearly doubled in size with its acquisition of 84 clinton drug and discount stores . the purchase introduced cvs to the midwest with stores in indiana . in 1977 cvs acquired the 36 store new jersey based mack drug chain . in 1980 cvs became the 15th largest pharmacy chain in the u.s. with 408 stores and 414 million in sales . in 1988 cvs celebrated its 25th anniversary finishing the year with nearly 750 stores and sales of about 1.6 billion . in 1990 cvs acquired 500 store peoples drug which established the company in new mid atlantic markets including washington d.c. pennsylvania maryland and virginia . peoples drug stores were converted into cvs stores in may 1994 . in 1994 cvs launched pharmacare a pharmacy benefit management pbm company providing a wide range of services to employers managed care organizations insurance companies unions and government agencies . 6 at the beginning of 1996 cvs was a division of melville corporation . during that year melville corporation divested their other retail companies such as linens n things kb toys foot action and marshalls . following the divestment melville changed their name to cvs corporation and traded on the new york stock exchange with the symbol cvs . 7 during 1997 when it had about 1 400 stores cvs doubled its size by purchasing the much larger revco drug stores which had nearly 2 600 stores in 17 midwestern southeastern and eastern states . 8 revco brought cvs into the ohio valley and southeastern u.s. ; previously cvs footprint had not been south of virginia cvs could afford such a large purchase because of its recent melville divesture . also in 1997 cvs procare was established as a specialty pharmacy subsidiary of cvs . in 1998 cvs acquired 207 stores from arbor drugs 9 bringing its store total to 4 100 across 24 states . the transaction gave cvs its first stores in michigan and the instant lead in the highly competitive detroit market . in 1999 cvs acquired soma.com the first online pharmacy and renamed it cvs.com to become the first fully integrated online and brick and mortar pharmacy offering to consumers . in 2000 cvs acquired stadtlander pharmacy from bergen brunswig corporation for 124 million in cash plus the assumption of certain liabilities . 10 this made cvs procare the largest specialty pharmacy in the u.s. at the time . the transaction also included a distribution agreement that called for bergen brunswig to provide procare with 2.5 billion of pharmaceuticals over the next five years . cvs has also been expanding its store base through new store openings . cvs entered the chicago market in 2001 which at the time was dominated by walgreens . in 2004 it has entered the california market which was dominated by longs drugs rite aid and walgreens . it opened stores in las vegas nevada houston texas and dallas texas right before its purchase of eckerd . cvs has also begun to open stores in arizona . in 2004 cvs purchased 1 268 eckerd drug stores and eckerd health services eckerd s pbm mail order pharmacy business from jcpenney . 11 most of the former eckerd stores that cvs purchased and converted into cvs stores were in florida and texas . since jcpenney credit cards were accepted at eckerd drugs stores they have been continued to be used at cvs . also in 2004 cvs procare became part of pharmacare . all procare stores were re branded as pharmacare stores . on january 23 2006 cvs announced that it had agreed to acquire the freestanding drug store operations of supermarket chain albertsons . 12 the deal included the acquisition of 700 drug stores trading under the osco drug and sav on drugs banners mostly in the midwest and southwestern united states with primary concentration of stores in southern california and northern illinois ; and was formally completed on june 2 2006 . 13 transition of sav on and osco stores to the cvs brand began shortly thereafter and was completed by december 2006 . cvs now dominates the southern california market . also included were albertsons health n home now cvs home health durable medical equipment dme stores . approximately 28 cvs home health locations are present in arizona california and the kansas city area representing cvs first venture into the specialized dme market . cvs had previously operated stores in southern california and completely withdrew from the market in 1993 . cvs sold virtually all the locations to american drug stores the drug store division of american stores company . american stores operated its drug stores in southern california as sav on drugs . ironically many of the stores in southern california that cvs acquired were stores that cvs had formerly owned . at the time cvs bought the stores back sav on operated them as sav on express stores . the express name was used by sav on to help customers identify those stores that did not carry all lines of merchandise as compared to the larger traditional sav on drugs location hence the name sav on express . as a result of the acquisition the chain now operates over 6 200 stores in 43 states and the district of columbia . 14 on july 13 2006 cvs announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire minneapolis based minuteclinic the pioneer and largest provider of retail based health clinics in the u.s. minuteclinic operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of cvs corporation . minuteclinic health care centers are staffed by board certified nurse practitioners and physician assistants who are trained to diagnose treat and provide prescriptions when clinically appropriate for common family illnesses such as strep throat and ear eye sinus bladder and bronchial infections . minuteclinic also offers common vaccinations such as flu shots tetanus and hepatitis a & b. the clinics are also supported by physicians who collaborate with the nurse practitioners to assure the highest quality of care . cvs plans to have 400 minuteclinics by the end of 2007 most of which within cvs pharmacy locations and are targeting a total of about 2 500 . 15 during fall 2006 caremark rx a pharmacy benefits management pbm company was facing fierce acquisition from express scripts an opposing pbm . cvs pharmacy entered into the sale offering a cash stock mix board seats and a merge with cvs s existing pharmacare pbm . though touted as a merger cvs acquired caremark rx on march 22 2007 renaming the company cvs caremark corp. and the corporate headquarters remained in woonsocket ri . 16 the pharmacy services business including the combined pharmacy benefits management pbm specialty pharmacy and disease management businesses is headquartered in nashville tn . tom ryan the chairman & ceo of cvs remained president and ceo of cvs caremark corporation while caremark s edwin crawford became the chairman of the board . 17 on november 7 2007 edwin crawford quit his position and tom ryan was again named chairman of the board . 18 on august 12 2008 cvs announced that they would acquire longs drugs stores corp. in a 2.9 billion deal . 19 longs operates 521 stores in the western united states 41 of these stores in hawaii alone with a heavy concentration in california . this will strengthen the 2006 acquisition by cvs of sav on drugs also primarily in california and now operating under the cvs brand . cvs will also enter the hawaiian market which it did not previously operate and retain the well established longs name there . this deal is estimated to bring over 100 million a year in cost savings to the combined company . it closed october 30 2008 . on november 3 2008 cvs opens their first beauty 360 store in washington dc . beauty 360 features a wide range of prestige and niche beauty brands from the skincare cosmetics men s grooming and fragrance categories . staffed with trained and licensed professionals they offer brand specific services including mini manicures express facials hand massages and make up application . cvs expects to open about 50 beauty 360 stores by the end of 2009 with the majority of the stores being located adjacent to existing cvs pharmacy locations . all of which have now closed so that they could focus on their core beauty sales . 20 on july 14 2014 cvs announced its agreement to acquire miami based navarro discount pharmacy the largest hispanic owned drugstore chain the united states . made for an undisclosed sum the transaction includes navarro s 33 retail drugstore locations and navarro health services a specialty pharmacy serving patients with complex or chronic diseases . 21 on june 15 2015 cvs health announced its agreement to acquire target s pharmacy and retail clinic businesses . the deal expanded cvs to new markets in seattle denver portland and salt lake city . the acquisition includes more than 1 660 pharmacies in 47 states . cvs will operate them through a store within a store