Commemorating its 70th anniversary, Henry Schein, Inc. (Nasdaq:HSIC - news) opened trading today on the Nasdaq Stock Market in a ceremony led by Company Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President, Stanley Bergman.
Henry Schein was founded in 1932 and has grown into the largest provider of healthcare supplies to office-based practitioners in the combined North American and European markets. The Company began trading on Nasdaq in 1995.
``In the throws of the Great Depression, Henry and Esther Schein opened a retail pharmacy in Queens, New York, that today is a publicly traded, $2.6 billion global distributor of healthcare products and services,'' commented Mr. Bergman. ``It is their simple commitment to providing customers with low prices, high quality products and exceptional service that has guided our Company for seven decades, and defines our business philosophy today.''
Seven Decades of Success
Henry Schein founded his enterprise with the vision of providing high-quality, affordable merchandise to his customers. Through direct marketing, bulk buying and discount pricing, he was able to accomplish this goal, backing his merchandise with a personal guarantee of satisfaction.
Over the decades, his business grew, with some significant milestones along the way. In the 1950's, the Company shifted its focus from the consumer to the office-based practitioner market. In the 1960's, as business rapidly expanded and required the Company move to larger facilities, he introduced an innovation to the industry - offering merchandise through the Henry Schein catalog, which would soon become the ``reference guide'' for the office-based practitioner.
The 1970s brought a new generation of leadership, with Henry's son Marvin taking over for his father. It also brought a significant focus on selling merchandise to dental practices, and the implementation of automated state-of-the-art distribution systems, which were new to the industry at that time. In the 1980s, Jay Schein, Henry's oldest son, became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, leading the Company into a new period of growth and prosperity marked by expansion in the areas of electronic ordering, veterinary dentistry and infection control. In 1989, the Company was poised to branch out to the international community when Jay Schein passed away and Stanley Bergman became Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President.
Henry Schein continued to expand during the 1990's, opening its first international facility in The Netherlands in 1990, and its second U.S. distribution center in Indianapolis in 1991. Today, the Company has operations in 16 countries, with six primary distribution centers in North America and seven throughout Europe and the Pacific Rim.
The 1990's also saw the expansion of Henry Schein's unique sales and marketing approach, which to date had included a combination of telesales and extensive direct marketing programs, as the Company created a network of field sales consultants, now over 1,200 strong. Following its tradition of introducing customers to the latest in product technology and innovation, it was also during the 1990's when the Company introduced its practice management software systems, which today are installed in over 44,000 practices.
``The Henry Schein tale is a remarkable success story,'' commented Mr. Bergman. ``As a Company we continue to fulfill the dreams and commitments Henry Schein set down 70 year ago. We remain dedicated to helping our customers practice high-quality healthcare while helping to maximize their practice efficiency and profitability. As we enter our eighth decade of operations, we look back and realize how far we've come from that small retail pharmacy in Queens and look forward to even greater success in the future.''
Today, Henry Schein is widely recognized for its excellent customer service and low prices, and serves more than 400,000 customers worldwide, including dental practices and laboratories, physician practices and veterinary clinics, as well as government and other institutions.
The Company operates its five business groups - Dental, Medical, Veterinary, International and Technology - through a centralized and automated distribution network, which provides customers in more than 125 countries with a comprehensive selection of over 80,000 national and Henry Schein private-brand products. Henry Schein also offers a wide range of innovative value-added practice solutions, including such leading practice management software systems as DENTRIX® and Easy Dental® for dental practices, and AVImark® for veterinary clinics; as well as ArubA®, Henry Schein's electronic catalog and ordering system. For more information, visit the Henry Schein Web site at www.henryschein.com.
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