"Kinray Succeeds on its Own Terms"
NEW YORK — In the midst of consolidation in the drug
distribution industry, regional wholesaler Kinray Inc. continues to be a remarkable success story.
“We process $2.5 billion in sales from one facility, using just one single eight-hour shift per day,” notes President and Chief Executive Officer Stewart Rahr. “Consolidation has actually worked in our favor, because our vendors don’t want to be dominated by and dependent on mega public companies.” Known for its strong customer service, Kinray has quietly and steadily grown to become the nation’s largest independent pharmaceutical distributor. The privately held company recently hired the entire sales force of the recently liquidated Remo Drug Corp., formerly Kinray’s largest local competitor, and it is now shipping to the 250 to 300 independent drug stores previously supplied by Remo.

Kinray services more than 2,000 independent pharmacies in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Delaware. “Our level of service is unmatched in the industry,” asserts Rahr. Kinray was the first independent wholesaler in the nation to installed a fully automated on-line order entry system. The company operates a 400,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility in Whitestone, Queens, and recently purchased the adjacent property, also encompassing more than 200,000 square feet. The increased capacity is necessary to accommodate Kinray’s
ever-growing market base, Rahr says. The key to the company’s remarkable growth is the
personal service it gives to all its stores, says Kinray Vice President of Purchasing and Marketing Sandy Greco. “The discounts we are able to obtain from our vendors derive from our substantial and growing purchasing power, and we pass on these savings to our customers,” he says.
The wholesaler also offers a technologically advanced Internet ordering system. On the Kinray website customers can place their orders, find out if an item is in stock and if a generic substitution is available, with up-to-the-minute pricing and products inventory, according to Vice President and General Manager Bill Bodinger. Kinray recently expanded its home health care division to over 8,000 SKUs, offering a full line of hard and soft goods. “We also plan on being the major player nationally in generics sales,” Rahr says. Kinray currently offers 6,000 SKUs in the generics arena. In addition, the company continues to expand its Preferred Plus Pharmacy private label offerings.
In the midst of such growth Rahr is proud of the wholesaler’s non-borrowing banking position.
“We do not have to service debt, which keeps us ahead of the competition in profit stature and bottom line,” he notes. “The acquisition of the Remo inventory was strictly from cash flow.”
Kinray continues to be active in the area of philanthropy. Soon after the September 11 terrorist attacks the company held a fund-raiser that generated $100,000 for the New York Police and Fire Widows and Children Benefit Fund.

Currently listed at No. 130 on Forbes magazine’s list of the top 500 privately held companies list and No. 17 on Crains Business’ list of privately held firms in the New York area, and rated the largest privately held company in the four outer boroughs of New York, Kinray doesn’t intend to rest on its laurels. The company expects to soon reach the $3 billion mark in sales. “We will achieve that goal by continuing to do what got us here— being responsive to all the needs of our customers,” remarks Rahr.