Press Release

FTC Grants Early Termination of Waiting Period For CVS/Eckerd Transaction

WOONSOCKET, R.I.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 1, 2004--CVS Corporation (NYSE: CVS)
announced today that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has granted early
termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust
Improvements Act of 1976 for its proposed transaction to acquire approximately
1,260 Eckerd drugstores as well as Eckerd's mail order and pharmacy benefits
management businesses from J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP). CVS anticipates that the
Eckerd transaction will close around the end of June 2004.

As previously reported, J.C. Penney is under agreement to sell Eckerd's
remaining business to The Jean Coutu Group (PJC), Inc. (TSX: PJC.A) immediately
after the closing of the CVS acquisition. The waiting period for the J.C.
Penney-Coutu transaction expired on May 17, 2004, so that the Hart-Scott-Rodino
waiting period has now expired for both transactions.

On April 5, 2004, CVS announced it had entered into a definitive agreement
under which it will acquire approximately 1,260 Eckerd drug stores, located
mainly in the southern United States, in addition to Eckerd Health Services,
which includes Eckerd's mail order and pharmacy benefit management businesses.
With over 40 years of dynamic growth in the retail pharmacy industry, CVS is
committed to being the easiest pharmacy retailer for customers to use. With
4,191 stores in 32 states and the District of Columbia, CVS has created
innovative approaches to serve the healthcare needs of all its customers through
its online pharmacy, CVS.com and its pharmacy benefit management and specialty
pharmacy subsidiary, PharmaCare Management Services. General information about
CVS is available through the Investor Relations portion of the Company's
website, at http://investor.cvs.com.