Last I heard Brooks and CVS were each looking at part. 1 news story is
below. They need to sell it or fire all management and data processors.

Dow Jones News Service via NewsEdge Corporation : NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--CVS
Corp.'s (CVS) financial chief said Wednesday his company would consider
buying some, but not all, of J.C. Penney Co.'s (JCP) Eckerd drugstore chain.

"At the right price and in the right markets, I think we would look at it,"
CVS Chief Financial Officer David B. Rickard told analysts in a conference
call on the company's third-quarter earnings.

Antitrust issues would prevent CVS from acquiring Eckerd stores in the U.S.
Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions, where CVS already has a strong presence.

But Eckerd's 2,700-store chain does have "very good real estate" in both
standalone buildings and strip malls in other areas of the country, Rickard
said. Eckerd's two strongholds are in Florida and Texas, where it has more
than 1,000 stores. By comparison, CVS currently has a relatively minimal
presence in those states, with only 69 stores in Florida and 55 stores in
Texas.

Rickard added that CVS began construction earlier this year on a
350,000-square-foot distribution center in Ennis, Texas. The Texas facility,
located just south of Dallas and slated to open in late 2004, will be the
company's first distribution center west of the Mississippi River.

The warehouse will be only about a third of the average size of the nine
distribution centers that currently serve CVS' 4,137 stores across the U.S.
Improved technology, however, will allow the Texas facility to serve as many
stores as its larger counterparts can, the company said.

J.C. Penney CEO Allen Questrom said last month that he is considering all
alternatives for the troubled Eckerd chain, whose sales have been hurt by
poorly stocked shelves, slack customer service and stores that are in need
of relocation or remodeling.

Penney said it hired Credit Suisse First Boston to review possible takeover
bids. Analysts say the most likely alternatives include an outright sale of
Eckerd, or a change in management at the drug chain, which currently
accounts for more than 40% of Penney's revenue.

CVS isn't the first chain to publicly express interest in Eckerd. Earlier
this month, Jean Coutu Group Inc. (PJC.A), Canada's second-largest drug
chain and owner of the 332-store Brooks Pharmacy chain in New England, told
investors on a conference call that it is "absolutely well-positioned" to
make a U.S. acquisition.

While it has the financial means to purchase Eckerd stores on its own, Jean
Coutu has no "lack of partners," who are interested in a joint acquisition
in terms of strategy and operations, CEO Francois J. Coutu said.

CVS on Wednesday reported third-quarter net income of $187.8 million, or 46
cents a share, up 14% from $164.4 million, or 40 cents a share, in the same
period a year earlier.

The company said a more profitable product assortment and lower inventory
losses boosted margins.

Net sales rose 8.5% to $6.38 billion from $5.88 billion. Same-store sales,
or sales in stores open more than a year, climbed 6.4%, with most of the
increase coming from the pharmacy business.

Shares of CVS on the New York Stock Exchange recently changed hands at
$35.75, off 8 cents, or 0.1%.

Shares of J.C. Penney recently traded at $24.35, off 37 cents, or 1.5%.

-By James Covert, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5360;
james.covert@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires