The Nutrition Group History

Likewise, Mitchum--Bertrand's sister-in-law--held positions as executive vice-president, secretary, and director of the predecessor companies since 1984.

Bertrand served as president and chairman of the board of the predecessor companies since 1984; he retained these titles in the new corporation.

Trudeau also filed for bankruptcy in Texas in 1990, although he took no further action on the claim.

In 1992, Micronutrient Initiative was established as a secretariat within the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, to support progress toward that goal.

Carlsen, Clifford, “GNC Pepping Up Expansion; Bay Fit for 10 More Stores,” San Francisco Business Times, October 29, 1993, Sec.

The initial public offering generated $81 million, with a secondary offering in 1993 raising another $57 million.

GNC made a new public stock offering in 1993.

Nutrition for Life's operations extended to Canada and the Philippines beginning in 1993.

In 1993 IDRC recruited an executive director for the secretariat and transferred 2–3 of its staff to the new organization.

As would be expected in an LBO, the acquisition left the company heavily in debt with large interest charges. It opened hundreds of new stores, which brought the total number of outlets to 1,553 by the end of fiscal 1993.

Venkatesh Mannar took over in June 1994 as the executive director.

In 1994 GNC opened 172 company and 224 franchise stores and added another 207 units by acquiring Nature Food Centers for $61 million.

To this end, it created an international franchise division in 1994.

Securities and Exchange Commission Form 10-K; General Nutrition Companies, Inc., Washington, D.C.: Securities and Exchange Commission, 1994.

The company also first published its multilingual recruiting publication, Freedom Magazine, in 1994 to answer the most common questions of those considering becoming distributors.

The company's biggest international presence at the time was in Mexico, where there were 63 GNC stores in 1995.

murray, matt. "gnc makes ginseng, shark pills its potion for growth." wall street journal, 15 may 1996.

With lawsuits settled in at least eight states, Trudeau changed his commission method in July 1996.

By September 1996, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the United States began investigating Nutrition for Life for violations of the federal securities laws.

Operating earnings (as adjusted by the company to make comparisons meaningful) were $195 million, up from $152 million in fiscal 1996.

GNC planned to open another 15 stores in the United Kingdom by the end of 1996 and saw a potential for 300--400 new locations there.

Naturally, he didn’t expect much. It was 1996, and our founder, Mr.

Another product, a plant oil extract linked to cardiovascular health developed by Monsanto, was due later in 1998. It had established six partnerships since 1996.

In September 1997, Nutrition for Life installed computer information systems for administrative efficiency, high-quality customer service, and warehouse and shipping management.

Compared with the first quarter of fiscal 1997, revenues were up 20 percent and net income rose 27 percent.

Continuing the "Live Well" theme, GNC launched "Live Well" as an advertising slogan in 1997 with a $50 million national television and print advertising campaign.

Nutrition for Life's sales rose in the third quarter of 1997, indicating renewed confidence among consumers and distributors.

By mid-1998 the company had 15 Live Well stores in operation and planned to convert 55 existing stores and add another ten by the end of the year.

In April 1999 GNC announced it was ending its experiment with "wellness" grocery stores.