Procare Pharmacy, L.L.C. history

1969: Melville acquires the CVS chain.

By 1970 Melville, the fifth largest and most profitable United States shoemaker, operated 1,644 total retail outlets.

In 1971 Melville entered into a joint venture with C.F. Bally of Switzerland, contracting to sell the upscale Bally shoe line in the United States.

In 1975 Melville branched out further into nonshoe retailing when it bought Marshalls Inc., then a chain of 32 retail apparel stores.

In 1976 total receipts from the firm's 3,300 outlets totaled $1.2 billion.

In 1980, Melville, with 48,000 employees and more than 4,500 stores, saw its 26th straight year of increased sales.

1981: Kay-Bee Toys chain is acquired by Melville.

1982: Linens 'n Things is added to the Melville roster.

In 1988 Melville bought athletic footwear retailer Finish Line as well as Bermans Specialty Stores.

In 1989 Melville underwent some structural renovation.

Sales for 1990 totaled $8.68 billion.

In early 1992 CVS exited from the California market when it sold all 85 of its stores in that state to American Drug Stores Inc., a unit of American Stores Company, for $60 million.

In September 1996 Melville moved its corporate headquarters from Rye, New York, to the headquarters of CVS in Woonsocket, Rhode Island.

In 1998, for example, the company announced plans to open as many as 200 stores in New York City over a three-year period.

The market for specialty pharmaceuticals, estimated at about $16 billion in 1999, was a particularly fast-growing segment of the drug industry, but it was highly fragmented, consisting mostly of mom-and-pop operations.