GNC filed for bankruptcy Tuesday and warned that nearly a quarter of its stores will be closed.
Our stores remain open to serve you and https://t.co/UGVs8J6PuI is available for your 24/7 wellness needs. We promise to dedicate every day to finding new ways to raise the bar. This is only the beginning…GNC Live Well. pic.twitter.com/8cYb5lZsS7
— GNC (@GNCLiveWell) June 24, 2020
The company said that economic pressures brought on by the coronavirus pandemic caused “dramatic negative impact” on its business, per the company’s website. (RELATED: BP To Slash 10,000 Jobs As Coronavirus Creates Slump In Energy Markets)
In a customer FAQ, GNC said that it plans to accelerate the closure of 800 to 1,200 stores, many of which were “previously announced with the process underway.” GNC has 5,200 retail locations in the U.S. and 7,300 locations around the world, according to USA Today.
The company said it would be “exiting unfavorable lease terms burdening our business more quickly and shifting resources to our standalone store locations where we are seeing significantly more consumer foot traffic.” It also said in a news release that it reached a decision with stakeholders to “pursue a dual-path process that will allow the Company to restructure its balance sheet and accelerate its business strategy through Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.”
The company’s business has been given a $760 million purchase price and sale of the company would be conducted “through a court-supervised auction process at which higher and better bids may be presented.”
GNC hopes to reorganize or be sold by fall of 2020, per the news release. The company said it was closing up to 900 stores over a three-year period in 2018 and in 2019 announced it would focus on closing mall locations, according to USA Today.
On Twitter, GNC said they “promise to dedicate every day to finding new ways to raise the bar,” and that this restructuring “is only the beginning.”