GNC Franchising

Founded: 1935 Franchising since: 1988
In 1935, David Shakarian started a health-food store in Pittsburgh called Lackzoom. It specialized in yogurt (which his father had helped introduce to the U.S.), but also carried health-food products such as honey and grains. Beginning with $35 in receipts his first day, Shakarian expanded to six Pittsburgh-area stores in five years.

As more people became interested in natural foods and better nutrition, Shakarian opened stores in other states and changed the company's name to General Nutrition Centers (GNC). GNC also began producing its own vitamin and mineral supplements, foods, drinks and cosmetics. They started franchising in 1988. With company and franchised stores throughout the U.S. and worldwide, GNC now focuses on vitamins and nutritional supplements.

300 6th Ave., 4th Fl. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222

Phone: (800)766-7099/ (412)338-2503

Franchisor is a publicly-held company with 600 employee(s); 28 employee(s) in franchise department.

Franchise Growth

Year	U.S. Franchises	Canadian Franchises	Foreign Franchises	Company Owned
2009	936	2	1224	2625
2008	978	4	1,133	2,770
2007	1,046	4	1,000	2,693
2006	1,156	5	858	2,785
2005	1,335	6	767	2,644

Where Seeking Franchisees
In the U.S. Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North carolina, North dakota, New hampshire, New jersey, New mexico, Nevada, New york, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode island, South carolina, South dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, West virginia, Wyoming
Worldwide

Exclusive territories available.

Total investment: $165K-205K Franchise fee: $40K/30K

Ongoing royalty fee: 6% Term of agreement: 10 years, renewable

Type of Financing Available

	In-House	Third Party
Franchise Fee	No	Yes
Startup Costs	Yes	Yes
Equipment	Yes	Yes
Inventory	Yes	No
Accounts Receivable	No	No
Payroll	No	No

Qualifications
Net worth requirement: $100K
Cash liquidity requirement: $85K+

Operations

• 65% of all franchisees own more than one unit
• Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 3 - 4
• Absentee ownership of franchise is NOT allowed. (100% of current franchisees are owner/operators)

Training

• Available at headquarters: 1 week
• At franchisee's location: 1 week
• At corporate store : 1 week

Ongoing Support

• Newsletter
• Meetings
• Toll-free phone line
• Grand opening
• Internet
• Security/safety procedures
• Field operations/evaluations
• Purchasing cooperatives

Marketing Support

• Co-op advertising
• Ad slicks
• National media
• Regional advertising

Other marketing support

• Franchise intranet system

Franchise 500® rank:
#23 (2009); #41 (2008); #32 (2007); #26 (2006); #22 (2005);

Ranked #1 in category in:
2009; 2008; 2007; 2006; 2005;

America's Top Global Franchises:
#22 (2009); #29 (2008); #19 (2007); #15 (2006); #10 (2005);