America's largest Hispanic-owned pharmacy chain is set to become a subsidy of a Fortune 500 company.
CVS Pharmacy is set to buy Miami-based Navarro Discount Pharmacy. The chain will continue to operate under its original name and will mostly focus on Hispanic customers.
Originally founded in Havana, Cuba, in the '40s, the stores were taken over by the Castro regime. The family then fled to Miami and set up shop here. It now has 33 stores throughout Miami-Dade County.
"The acquisition of Navarro will strengthen CVS/pharmacy's position in the Hispanic marketplace, the fastest growing demographic in the U.S., and we are excited to be adding the Navarro Discount Pharmacy brand to the CVS/pharmacy family," said Helena Foulkes, president of CVS/pharmacy, in a statement.
Financial details of the sale have not been made public, and it would need regulatory approval before being finalized.
The drugstore trade in America has pretty much become a duopoly shared by CVS and its rival, Walgreens.
CVS has built its empire by buying out other regional chains and rebranding most of those stores to CVS locations. It first entered Florida in a major way by buying out all of the Florida stores that had been owned by the now-defunct Florida-based chain Eckerd Pharmacy. Though, this buyout appears to be unique, as Navarro will operate as a separate brand.
There's no word yet on whether CVS has plans to expand the Navarro brand name to other Hispanic markets. The Miami Herald points out that while Navarro was a Cuban-American founded company, many of its stores in specific neighborhoods are tailored to Hispanics of other national origin.
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