Pasadena GNC Store’s Fate Unknown in Wake of Company Bankruptcy Filing

GNC Holdings, which operates nearly 5,000 vitamin and health product stores throughout the U.S., including a branch in Pasadena, plans to file for Chapter 11 protection and shut down as many as a quarter of its locations, the company said.

The company made the announcement Tuesday in a statement, describing the move as an acceleration of it’s “store optimization and growth strategies.”

GNC, its lenders and other key stakeholders “have reached an agreement 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,” according to the statement.

As a result, between 800 and 1,200 of the GNC’s 4,800 U.S. locations are expected to be shut down, the 85-year-old company said. No information about any specific stores or regions that may be affected was available.

Management at the GNC location at Paseo Colorado could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

“This acceleration will allow GNC to invest in the appropriate areas to evolve for the future, better positioning the Company to meet current and future consumer demand around the world,” according to the statement.

GNC also announced the company has secured about $130 in new financing from a lender that it says will help it achieve future goals and get back on its feet.

Franchise partners in the U.S. and abroad, as well as all corporate locations in Ireland, are not affected by the agreement, as they are separated legal entities,according to GNC.

The company was on unstable footing even before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, with almost $1 billion in dead and facing declining sales, CNN reported.

The case was being heard in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the District of Deleware. GNC said the company planned to file with Canadian courts to ask that they recognize the U.S. Chapter 11 filing.