Interesting facts! CVS is looking to hire older people as their new plan of work staff. So yes, that means when you go to CVS for your favorite make up you will have to answer to Grandma again. I'm not sure how much I like the idea. They call it Ageless Talent and they consider it helpful because since a lot of their prescription customers are older, this new hiring practice will differentiate them from the rest of the drug store pack.
I would say it will make them different. I am not judging any retailer on how to change it up but I would offer a few thoughts with my 20 years of retail experience.
1) No one cares how old Amazon order placers are.
Ouch, that was a low blow. But it's true, Amazon is full steam ahead and changing your staff isn't really going to auto populate people in your stores on a whim.
2) Strategies have to marry throughout.
My thought here is that a CVS has to recognize where exactly they fully differ from the group of corner drug stores and that's in talent, marketing, merchandising, pricing, and product offering. I actually think employees that ring registers aren't the first place to set your bet on updating your now suspiciously mundane environment.
3) Who and what is leading
My last thought is this, is prescription drugs really what's going to ring the registers and drive profits up Wall Street investors? I'm not the most plugged in as their leadership claims to be but I do think beauty and cosmetics is where it's at and is here to stay.
With marketing, with promotion, with following trend brick and mortar stores have to be careful that they #1 know what business they are in. I learned this back even before my MBA so this answer won't cost much you much, if you are in the older people drug business then own that. If you are in the snack business then be that. If you are in all things affordable (we know online and in stores who we are talking about) then successfully be that.
I run an amazingly successful beauty business and I unsuccessfully ran an apparel business side by side with it. My retail partners begged me to stay and keep giving it a shot by reinventing the wheel over and over. I think that's the problem with big box. They don't know when to quit, when to change, when to give up what's not working
and move on. As a small business we are nimble and quick to move. I don't think it's a size matter either. I think it's a matter of big headedness and getting out of of yourself and out of the way of what "people may think." So I guess I say somewhat good job to CVS for moving, they just gave 1 million more feet to go. Simply because, while we don't want to fully accept it. Dot.com is the future. Let's get top management that's probably older and white male to integrate that staff. Maybe they should add some younger more popular votes to that staff. This might add a helpful hand in catching the wave of what's going to be the next hot thing and how to beat it before other retailers do.
This is just my personal and professional opinion. I know you will judge me so please do it publicly and subscribe to my blog and leave a comment below.
