From Floods to Bankruptcy: How GNC’s Health Empire Crumbled Under Debt, Pandemic, and Trust

General Nutrition Centers (GNC) began in 1935 as Lackzoom, a small Pittsburgh health food store founded by David Shakarian. Defying skepticism and surviving a devastating flood, Shakarian expanded into a national chain, rebranded as GNC in the 1960s, and capitalized on the growing wellness movement. By the 1980s, GNC operated over 1,000 stores and pioneered mail-order supplements, becoming a trusted household name that normalized daily vitamin use and fitness nutrition. However, after Shakarian’s death in 1984, GNC entered a cycle of ownership changes through leveraged buyouts by firms like Thomas H. Lee Partners, Royal Dutch Numico, Apollo Management, and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. These transactions loaded the company with debt—nearly $1 billion by 2020—while its business model lagged behind shifting consumer trends. The rise of e-commerce, competition from Amazon, Walmart, and pharmacies, and declining mall traffic eroded GNC’s core retail strategy. Despite a $300 million investment from China’s Harbin Pharmaceutical Group in 2018, GNC continued to lose money, closing hundreds of stores in a desperate downsizing effort. The final blow came with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which forced widespread store closures and triggered a $200 million quarterly loss. On June 23, 2020, GNC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, announcing plans to close at least 800 locations. Controversially, just days before filing, CEO Ken Martindale received a $2.2 million retention bonus, sparking public outrage amid mass layoffs. In September 2020, the company was sold to Harbin Pharmaceutical Group for $770 million, emerging from bankruptcy under full Chinese state-linked ownership. This raised significant national security concerns, particularly because GNC operates on approximately 85 U.S. military bases. Lawmakers like Senator Marco Rubio and Representative Pat Harrigan voiced alarm over potential exposure of sensitive consumer health data to the Chinese government, leading to proposed legislation in 2025 to ban GNC from military installations. Further damaging its reputation, GNC settled a 2015 lawsuit with the Oregon Attorney General and the Department of Justice over the sale of supplements containing banned substances, agreeing to pay $2.25 million and overhaul its product screening processes. Since restructuring, GNC has attempted a comeback through Walmart partnerships, digital expansion, and rebranding to become more omnichannel. While still active in the wellness market, its future depends on overcoming deep-seated trust issues, adapting to modern retail dynamics, and navigating complex geopolitical scrutiny. GNC’s story reflects broader challenges in the supplement industry—regulatory gaps, evolving consumer behavior, and the fragility of brick-and-mortar retail—while underscoring how a brand once synonymous with health can become entangled in financial, ethical, and national security debates. Its survival remains uncertain, but its impact on American health culture is undeniable.

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