CVS recently announced its decision to stop selling tobacco products. Since tobacco previously took up a fair deal of shelf space in CVS stores, this removal was clearly newsworthy.
CVS addressed the topic openly on its website. The title alone was quite a standout: “CVS quits for good. This is the right thing to do.” The page was lined with info graphics regarding the negative health effects of smoking, along with videos from the CVS upper management team.
CVS is stopping sales of cigarettes and tobacco products by Oct. 1, 2014, affecting more than 7,600 stores in the US. This will clearly have revenue repercussions, but CVS’ rebuttal is that this is “the right thing to do for the good of our customers and our company,” adding that, “the sale of tobacco is inconsistent with our purpose – helping people on their path to better health.” CVS ended their online statement with, once again, “This is the right thing to do.”
This significant move, one with financial risk and social backfire potential, is receiving a wide range of coverage, including gaining the approval of President Obama, who said the company is setting a “powerful example.” Obama believes that this move “will have a profoundly positive impact on the health of our country.”
NPR wrote an excellent piece on this topic. The article pointed out that in this day in age companies need to be on top of their marketing and PR efforts. Pharmacies have been positioning themselves of late as wellness centers, but cigarette and tobacco products offered in its stores directly contradict that positioning. President and CEO Larry Merlo pointed out that this decision is “about where [CVS is] headed as an organization, where we expect to be in the future as a healthcare company.”
CVS handled this situation perfectly from a PR standpoint, taking negative reactions and refocusing these reactions on the healthy lifestyle CVS wants its customers to live. To risk potential sales and backlash from the public made this decision undoubtedly a hard one, but CVS made it unequivocally to enhance the health in its customers’ lives. It could not have been an easy decision to let go of an estimated $2 billion in revenue that cigarettes and tobacco brought to the company, but in so doing, CVS is now better positioned to promote its purpose of helping its customers on their path to a healthier life. This bodes well that CVS will earn increased respect for its effort to effectively and successfully tie its communications to its long-term business strategy.