What was the old expression? Smoke ’em if you got ’em? Not anymore. As of last month, CVS Health has held true to its promise: we had ’em, but we dumped ’em. As of September, all cigarettes and smoking supplies have been removed from CVS’s 7,700 stores. In addition, the company has stated that they will not carry e-cigarettes as an alternative. The bold move was the final step in a plan that was announced last February; it was widely covered by the media then, and a second wave of publicity followed this fall. In addition, a social media campaign, #onegoodreason, has continued the conversation, engaging customers to interact and transition the company into a source of support and education in the area of smoking cessation. Despite forfeiting an estimated $2 billion in sales, CVS is counting on a long term win. According to CEO Larry Merlo, success will come in several forms:
- Strategic partnerships which had been held back due to the company’s tobacco sales can now be formed, including those with healthcare systems.
- A corporate rebrand from CVS Pharmacy to CVS Health is more aptly supported by the move, showing that the company “walks the walk” when it comes to promoting healthy living for its customers.
- Support from consumers has been overwhelmingly positive, indicating that lost tobacco sales may be replaced by other purchases made from a new or reenergized customer base.
- Emptying the shelves of cigarettes is in line with efforts in many major cities, where the cost of a pack has soared and where regulatory guidelines are continually changing to limit smoking in public areas.
Knowing the right thing to do is often easy, but can also be in direct conflict with a company’s bottom line. As PurpleAmerica.us founder and CEO Stuart Muszynski wrote in a blog for the Huffington Post shortly after CVS Health’s announcement last winter, “While many corporations are admired for taking on risk to launch new products, most managers are not rewarded for courage in advocating to do good.” Thankfully, as CVS has demonstrated, it may be a growing trend. If you’d like to find out how you can turn a risk into a win for all the right reasons, we’d love to talk and work with you. Kovak-Likly’s PR specialists are ready; give us a call at 203.762.8833 . – BML
