By Connor Hart
CVS Health is planning to open about 60 stores in 2026, growing its footprint for the first time after years of contraction.
The openings will include traditional stores, locations within Target stores and pharmacy-only sites, spokeswoman Amy Thibault said Monday.
Thibault didn't say how many stores CVS plans to close this year, but she confirmed an earlier Bloomberg report that stated the company will open more locations than it closes in 2026.
CVS over the past few years has undergone a significant downsizing of its footprint. The chain, which announced plans in 2021 to reduce its store density, said it would close about 270 locations in 2025, following roughly 800 net closures over the prior three years, The Wall Street Journal previously reported.
National drugstore chains including CVS have struggled in recent years to address both competition from discount retailers and a surge in theft, the Journal has said. The challenges have led to cost-cutting, widespread store closures and other dramatic changes at these companies.
CVS has sought to address these challenges in part by launching new store formats, including its pharmacy-only sites. The company last year opened about a dozen of these locations, which are less than half the size of typical CVS location.
The shrunken CVS stores stock health-related products, such as over-the-counter cough and pain medications, but they don't carry the vast array of consumer items that for decades have been staples at its stores, the Journal previously reported.
Write to Connor Hart at connor.hart@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 30, 2026 13:12 ET (17:12 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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