WOONSOCKET, R.I. — Mike Bloom has left CVS Caremark Corp. to become president and chief operating officer of Family Dollar Stores Inc.

Bloom had been executive vice president of merchandising and supply chain at CVS Caremark. With his departure, Ron Link, senior vice president of logistics, and Richard Widdowson, vice president of inventory replenishment, will report to Scott Baker, executive vice president of operations for real estate and supply chain. Vice president and merchandise manager Judy Sansone will assume responsibility for the merchandising organization.

At Family Dollar, Bloom succeeds R. James Kelly, who is retiring after 15 years with the company. Bloom’s appointment “reflects the result of several years of thoughtful discussion and planning as we prepared for Jim’s retirement,” said Family Dollar chairman and chief executive officer Howard Levine. “We are pursuing an ambitious growth agenda to expand our market share and drive greater financial returns, and these leadership changes ensure that we have a strong management team in place to execute our plans.”

Bloom began his 20-year career with CVS Caremark in store operations and progressed through a number of positions with increasing responsibility, including category manager, vice president of consumer health care and senior vice president of merchandising. Before joining the company he spent 10 years as a manager/executive with Virginia-based Peoples Drug Stores and the Florida division of Toronto-based Shoppers Drug Mart. He began his career at Woolco in 1979.

“A highly respected leader in the industry, Mike is a great addition to our team,” said Levine. “With more than 30 years of operational experience in small-box retailing, he is a seasoned merchant with a proven track record of leading high-performing teams and delivering results. In addition to being a strong leader, Mike is passionate about customers and driving their loyalty. In his new role Mike will have responsibility for major operational functions, including store operations, merchandising, marketing, global sourcing and supply chain.”

Bloom is credited with taking CVS/pharmacy’s business to new levels in both product innovation and sales. He demanded that the chain’s front-end categories — especially general merchandise segments— were imaginatively selected and that the entire mix was compellingly and creatively merchandised and promoted.

Asked about his accomplishments at CVS, he pointed first to his senior staff. “My role in our success is keeping our people motivated and focused to produce results,” he said over the winter.

“If I’ve learned one thing during my career, it’s how to effectively communicate with the people who report to me, the people who are really responsible for our merchandising and supply chain success. I’m particularly pleased with the fact that people enjoy sharing their ideas with me because they know I’m a willing listener."

As a merchant, Bloom ramped up CVS’ private label offering four years ahead of the recession, bringing new luster, sales and importance to the chain’s store brands. “I understand that our emphasis on private label isn’t always popular with the supplier community,” he said. “But it was the right move at the right time for our company — and, more importantly, for our customers.”

Family Dollar also promoted Dorlisa Flur to vice chair of strategy and chief administrative officer. She had been executive vice president and chief merchandising officer.