GNC Shrinks U.S. Footprint: Hundreds of Stores Closed in Three Years Amidst Strategic Shift

The once-ubiquitous nutrition and wellness retailer GNC has significantly contracted its physical presence across the United States, closing hundreds of stores over the past three years. According to a recently published franchise disclosure document, GNC operated 1,960 locations nationwide at the close of 2025. This figure represents a substantial reduction from the 2,300 stores reported at the beginning of 2023, signifying a net decline of 340 retail outlets within this three-year timeframe. The pace of these closures has notably accelerated in recent years. In 2025 alone, GNC saw a reduction of 180 locations, while the preceding year, 2024, experienced a net decrease of 165 stores. This trend contrasts with 2023, which was a period of marginal growth for the company, as GNC actually gained a net of 5 stores. The current store count of 1,960 at the end of 2025 marks a dramatic downsizing from GNC's historical peak. Prior to filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company boasted approximately 5,200 U.S. stores. This extensive network at the time even included "store-in-store" locations within Rite Aid, a drugstore chain that itself has faced significant financial challenges, filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy twice before ultimately ceasing all of its operations in 2025. The 2020 bankruptcy filing by Pittsburgh-based GNC Holdings was primarily attributed to a heavy debt burden and difficulties in refinancing with its lenders. Court documents from that period revealed that lockdown orders and temporary store closures, imposed due to the pandemic, severely disrupted GNC's business operations and scuttled its refinancing efforts. Immediately following its bankruptcy petition in June 2020, GNC announced ambitious plans to close as many as 1,200 of its underperforming stores. The company successfully emerged from bankruptcy in October 2020, following its acquisition by China's Harbin Pharmaceutical Group. Harbin Pharmaceutical Group was an affiliate of GNC's largest shareholder at the time, indicating a significant shift in ownership and strategic direction. More recently, GNC has been making substantial investments in its digital operations, signaling a strategic pivot towards an omnichannel approach and a greater emphasis on e-commerce. Currently, California, Florida, and Texas are the states with the highest concentration of GNC locations. Furthermore, the company's disclosure indicates that more than half of its remaining stores are company-owned, rather than franchised.