General Nutrition Centers
Encyclopedia
General Nutrition Centers (GNC) is a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
-based American
commercial
enterprise
focused on the retail sale of health and nutrition related products, including vitamins, supplements, minerals, herbs, sports nutrition, diet & energy products.
, Lackzoom, in downtown Pittsburgh. He only made USD
$35 on his first day, but was able to open a second store within six months. A year later, Shakarian suffered from what appeared to be a fatal blow when the Ohio River
flooded on St. Patrick's Day. Both of his stores were wiped out. However, he quickly rebuilt both stores, and opened five more by 1941.
During the health food
craze of the 1960s, Shakarian expanded his chain outside Pittsburgh for the first time, and in the process changed its name to General Nutrition Center. He continued to run the chain until his death in 1984. Numico
acquired GNC in 1999; it sold GNC to Apollo Management
in 2003. Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan
and Ares Management
bought GNC in 2007. On September 28, 2010, GNC Holdings filed with the SEC to raise up to $350 million in an initial public offering. It went public in 2011.
, bodybuilding
and nutritional supplements, in both their own numerous in-house brands as well as third party name brands. In addition to health and fitness books, magazines and related tools. The company also stocks vitamins,natural remedies, and health and beauty products.
GNC has over 6,000 stores in the U.S. (including 1,100 store-within-a-store locations within Rite Aid
) as well as locations in 49 other countries.
GNC LiveWell in Australia currently has 41 Stores located in Brisbane (Queensland), Sydney (New South Wales) and Melbourne (Victoria). Most of these stores have taken a major rebrand in January 2007, following the opening of es have also come under dismay from HealthyLife and GoVita, which have similar based stores in the same shopping center.
The major rebrand has taken a new approach to merchandising with front glass display cabinets featuring LCD Plasma Televisions displaying specials and products, and inviting customers into the store for free samples or fridges for cold beverages towards the back, and a centrally located point of sale desk.
stores; 700 of the 5,000 domestic US stores are franchises, commonly located within urban shopping malls and shopping zones. In 1999, drugstore.com
became the Exclusive Retailer on the Web of GNC Brand Products. General Nutrition Centers (GNC) opened a "store-within-a-store" on Drugstore.com
.
in their Multivitamin and Multimineral Supplements Review of 38 of the leading multivitamin/multimineral products sold in the U.S. and Canada. All six formulas passed ConsumerLab's test, which included testing of selected index elements, their ability to disintegrate in solution per United States Pharmacopeia
guidelines, lead contamination threshold set in California Proposition 65, and meeting U.S. Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) labeling requirements.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
-based American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
commercial
Commerce
While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...
enterprise
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
focused on the retail sale of health and nutrition related products, including vitamins, supplements, minerals, herbs, sports nutrition, diet & energy products.
History
In 1935, David Shakarian opened a small health food storeHealth food store
A health food store is a type of grocery store that primarily sells health food, organic foods, local produce, and often nutritional supplements...
, Lackzoom, in downtown Pittsburgh. He only made USD
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
$35 on his first day, but was able to open a second store within six months. A year later, Shakarian suffered from what appeared to be a fatal blow when the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
flooded on St. Patrick's Day. Both of his stores were wiped out. However, he quickly rebuilt both stores, and opened five more by 1941.
During the health food
Health food
The term health food is generally used to describe foods that are considered to be beneficial to health, beyond a normal healthy diet required for human nutrition. However, the term is not precisely defined by national regulatory agencies such as the U.S...
craze of the 1960s, Shakarian expanded his chain outside Pittsburgh for the first time, and in the process changed its name to General Nutrition Center. He continued to run the chain until his death in 1984. Numico
Numico
Numico , is a specialist baby food and clinical nutrition subsidiary of Groupe Danone. Products range from infant formula to specialised nutrition for babies with specific needs and for breastfeeding mothers. It also produces and markets special clinical nutrition, diet products and...
acquired GNC in 1999; it sold GNC to Apollo Management
Apollo Management
Apollo Global Management, LLC is a private equity investment firm, founded in 1990 by former Drexel Burnham Lambert banker Leon Black. The firm specializes in leveraged buyout transactions and purchases of distressed securities involving corporate restructuring, special situations and industry...
in 2003. Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan
Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan
The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan , commonly referred to as Teachers, is the organization responsible for administering pensions for public school teachers of the Canadian province of Ontario. The OTPP also invests the plan's pension fund, making it one of the largest and most powerful investment...
and Ares Management
Ares Management
Ares Management LLC, an SEC registered investment adviser, is a leading investment firm focused on alternative credit-based strategies, including private equity, private debt, and capital markets activities...
bought GNC in 2007. On September 28, 2010, GNC Holdings filed with the SEC to raise up to $350 million in an initial public offering. It went public in 2011.
Retail stores
GNC stores will typically stock a wide range of weight lossWeight loss
Weight loss, in the context of medicine, health or physical fitness, is a reduction of the total body mass, due to a mean loss of fluid, body fat or adipose tissue and/or lean mass, namely bone mineral deposits, muscle, tendon and other connective tissue...
, bodybuilding
Bodybuilding supplement
Bodybuilding supplements are dietary supplements commonly used by those involved in bodybuilding and athletics. Bodybuilding supplements may be used to replace meals, enhance weight gain, promote weight loss or improve athletic performance...
and nutritional supplements, in both their own numerous in-house brands as well as third party name brands. In addition to health and fitness books, magazines and related tools. The company also stocks vitamins,natural remedies, and health and beauty products.
GNC has over 6,000 stores in the U.S. (including 1,100 store-within-a-store locations within Rite Aid
Rite Aid
Rite Aid is a drugstore chain in the United States and a Fortune 500 company headquartered in East Pennsboro Township, Pennsylvania, near Camp Hill. Rite Aid is the largest drugstore chain on the East Coast and the third largest drugstore chain in the U.S....
) as well as locations in 49 other countries.
GNC LiveWell in Australia currently has 41 Stores located in Brisbane (Queensland), Sydney (New South Wales) and Melbourne (Victoria). Most of these stores have taken a major rebrand in January 2007, following the opening of es have also come under dismay from HealthyLife and GoVita, which have similar based stores in the same shopping center.
The major rebrand has taken a new approach to merchandising with front glass display cabinets featuring LCD Plasma Televisions displaying specials and products, and inviting customers into the store for free samples or fridges for cold beverages towards the back, and a centrally located point of sale desk.
Business model
GNC retail stores are both a combination of corporate-owned and franchisedFranchising
Franchising is the practice of using another firm's successful business model. The word 'franchise' is of anglo-French derivation - from franc- meaning free, and is used both as a noun and as a verb....
stores; 700 of the 5,000 domestic US stores are franchises, commonly located within urban shopping malls and shopping zones. In 1999, drugstore.com
Drugstore.com
Drugstore.com is an Internet retailer in health and beauty care products headquartered in Bellevue, Washington. Its web operations were launched on February 24, 1999....
became the Exclusive Retailer on the Web of GNC Brand Products. General Nutrition Centers (GNC) opened a "store-within-a-store" on Drugstore.com
Drugstore.com
Drugstore.com is an Internet retailer in health and beauty care products headquartered in Bellevue, Washington. Its web operations were launched on February 24, 1999....
.
Awards & recognition
Six formulas of GNC-branded multivitamins were tested by ConsumerLab.comConsumerLab.com
ConsumerLab.com is a provider of independent test results and information to help consumers and healthcare professionals evaluate health, wellness, and nutrition products. ConsumerLab.com was founded in 1999. It is subscription fee based....
in their Multivitamin and Multimineral Supplements Review of 38 of the leading multivitamin/multimineral products sold in the U.S. and Canada. All six formulas passed ConsumerLab's test, which included testing of selected index elements, their ability to disintegrate in solution per United States Pharmacopeia
United States Pharmacopeia
The United States Pharmacopeia is the official pharmacopeia of the United States, published dually with the National Formulary as the USP-NF. The United States Pharmacopeial Convention is the nonprofit organization that owns the trademark and copyright to the USP-NF and publishes it every year...
guidelines, lead contamination threshold set in California Proposition 65, and meeting U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Food and Drug Administration
The Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments...
(FDA) labeling requirements.