New CVS stores target Hispanic clientele
4 Houston sites offer bilingual staff, service
CVS Pharmacy has opened four stores designed to appeal to the growing Hispanic consumer base in Houston.
The CVS Pharmacy y más stores feature Spanish and English signs, bilingual staff and more than 1,500 products from Hispanic brands, such as Fiesta Spices, Jarritos soft drinks, Picot antacid and Foca laundry detergent. The new drugstores opened in September.
CVS, the nation’s largest pharmacy retailer with more than 9,800 stores, launched its Hispanic-focused locations in 2015, a year after acquiring the nation’s largest Hispanic-owned drugstore chain Miami-based Navarro Discount Pharmacy. Since then, the Woonsocket, R.I.-based company has been expanding its CVS Pharmacy y más stores to markets with large Hispanic populations.
Today, there are 130 CVS Pharmacy y más stores in 67 cities across California, Florida, Nevada, Texas and Puerto Rico. In Texas, there are 15 CVS Pharmacy y más stores across Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.
Hispanics represent a growing market for retailers. In Houston, they represent 44 percent of the
2.3 million residents in the city, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Local Hispanics are projected have spending power of $78 billion by 2022, up from $55 billion currently, according to the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
Other retailers are reaching out to this growing demographic. Walgreens has some 900 stores tailored to Hispanic customers, primarily in the southwest and Florida. These stores feature Hispanic products as well as a bilingual staff and signs.
Grocers have tailored many of their local stores to cater to Hispanics. H-E-B, for example, operates two Mi Tienda stores in Houston and has added tortillerias and Latin American foods to their traditional stores.