WOONSOCKET, R.I., Jan. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- CVS/pharmacy, the nation's leading retail pharmacy, celebrated its entry into the St. Louis market today with a grand opening at its new store in Ellisville, Mo. Joining CVS officials at the ceremony were Charlie A. Dooley, St. Louis County Executive and The Honorable Matt Pirrello, Mayor of Ellisville.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090129/NE64371LOGO )

"We are pleased to be opening stores in St. Louis, the 20th largest drugstore market in the country. It is a great fit for our strategy of expanding into high-growth markets," said Larry Merlo, President of CVS/pharmacy. "Our mission at CVS is to make pharmacy solutions effective and easy for our customers, so we look forward to providing high-quality and convenient pharmacy services at a great value to our new customers in St. Louis."

CVS/pharmacy's new stores in St. Louis feature all of the products and services for which millions of customers across the country visit its stores every day, including:


    --  A full service pharmacy staffed by highly trained pharmacists and
        pharmacy staff
    --  A complete line of health and beauty products including many brands
        exclusive to CVS/pharmacy
    --  General merchandise and digital photo-processing
    --  The CVS ExtraCare Rewards Program, which offers customers money back
        through Extra Bucks that are earned by shopping in-store or at
        www.cvs.com

CVS/pharmacy opened four stores in the St. Louis market over the past week:


    --  7320 Gravois Ave, St. Louis
    --  7334 Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis
    --  9141 Olive Blvd., Olivette
    --  15846 Manchester Rd, Ellisville

CVS/pharmacy will open a fifth location in Ballwin in the fall. In total, the five stores will bring about 125 new jobs to the St. Louis community this year.

As part of the grand opening celebration in Ellisville, CVS/pharmacy announced a $10,000 donation in funding and products to the St. Louis Area Foodbank, the region's largest non-profit food distribution center dedicated to feeding those in need. The donation includes a $5,000 gift in January and a $5,000 match in personal care products in February as part of a collection drive.

Throughout the month of February, CVS' four St. Louis stores will have collection bins for customers to donate to the Foodbank non-perishable food and personal care items, such as hygiene and baby products purchased at CVS/pharmacy. CVS will match the amount of product donated by customers with an additional product donation of up to $5,000 in value.

"The St. Louis Area Foodbank is delighted to partner with CVS/pharmacy," said Verletta Cole, director of development for St. Louis Area Foodbank. "We appreciate CVS/pharmacy for recognizing the need and for responding so generously."

About CVS/pharmacy

CVS/pharmacy, the retail division of CVS Caremark Corporation (NYSE: CVS), is America's leading retail pharmacy with more than 7,000 CVS/pharmacy and Longs Drug stores. CVS/pharmacy is committed to improving the lives of those we serve by making innovative and high-quality health and pharmacy services safe, affordable and easy to access, both in its stores and online at CVS.com. General information about CVS/pharmacy and CVS Caremark is available at www.cvscaremark.com.

About St. Louis Area Foodbank

The St. Louis Area Foodbank is a non-profit food distribution center for organizations that feed hungry people in both Eastern Missouri and Southwestern Illinois. The Foodbank gathers and distributes over 22 million pounds of food annually for local communities in need. For more information, visit www.stlfoodbank.org.




    CONTACTS:

    Mike DeAngelis
    CVS/pharmacy
    401-770-2645
    MJDeAngelis@cvs.com

    Aimee DeVoll
    Weber Shandwick
    314-552-6744
    ADeVoll@WeberShandwick.com

SOURCE CVS/pharmacy