CVS Health closed its $70 billion acquisition of Aetna Nov. 28 and plans to repurpose many of its stores to dedicate more space to care delivery, according to USA Today.
CVS CEO Larry Merlo said he envisions "CVS Pharmacy evolving from not just a store that happens to have a pharmacy and products" into "more of a healthcare destination."
Mr. Merlo added that CVS will continue to offer retail products, though retail sales grew only 1.5 percent in the first nine months of 2018. CVS already has MinuteClinic locations at many of its stores, but in the wake of the Aetna deal the company will branch into other comprehensive, community-based healthcare services.
"Our goal is to have some concept stores operating early next year," said Mr. Merlo. "I'm sure we’ll get some tremendous learnings from those first stores."