Drug Shutdown

CVS Corp. (Woonsocket, R.I.) has said it will close 160 of the 1260 Eckerd stores that it bought from J.C. Penney Co. (Plano, Texas) this spring.

CEO Tom Ryan said the company also expects to convert 300 Eckerd stores into CVS stores by the end of the year, with the remaining stores making the conversion by July. In some cases, the company will change the name on the Eckerd stores, even before the stores’ interiors are converted to the CVS look.

The nation’s largest drugstore chain by store count — 5300 units nationwide following the Eckerd acquisition — said the 160 stores targeted for closure include Eckerd stores that have poor locations, such as inside strip malls, and stores that are too close to existing CVS stores.