WOONSOCKET, R.I. — The retail business has been the main engine driving sales and profitability growth at CVS Caremark Corp., and much of the credit for its success belongs to the merchandising team led by Mike Bloom, executive vice president of merchandising and supply chain.

The retail business has been the main engine driving sales and profitability growth at CVS Caremark Corp., and much of the credit for its success belongs to the merchandising team led by Mike Bloom, executive vice president of merchandising and supply chain.

As CVS has dramatically expanded its retail pharmacy arm through a series of acquisitions in recent years, the chain has faced the challenge of integrating stores of diverse size and dimension into its fleet.

The company has proven itself to be a master of the process, even when it was dealing with stores that were substantially larger on the whole than the typical CVS prototype, as in the case of the Longs Drug acquisition as well as the earlier addition of Sav-on stores in California from Albertsons Inc.

At the core of this team’s success is a tremendous focus on the consumer and her needs, a focus that has enabled CVS to enter new markets with new and diverse customer bases and perform at a high level without missing a beat.

For the consistent excellence it has demonstrated and the vital role it has played in the success of CVS/pharmacy, MMR has selected the CVS merchandising team as its Merchant of the Year for 2010. Bloom’s team members are Cheryl Mahoney, Judy Sansone, Jim Trappani, Grant Pill, Greg Hanlon, Rick Molchan, Ron Link and Richard Widdowson.