GNC, Inc. is a multinational health and wellness company headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with more than 2,000 stores in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Latin America. The company operates as a subsidiary of Rite Aid Corporation.
GNC was founded in 1994 by Gary N. Neville, and the company became a subsidiary of Rite Aid in February 2013.
The company sells health and wellness products, including vitamins, minerals, herbs, and other dietary supplements. GNC also sells food items, such as protein bars and energy bars, and personal care items, such as facial moisturizers and toothpaste. In addition to its own products, GNC sells products from third-party manufacturers, including supplements from Herbalife Ltd.
and vitamins and minerals from Twinlab Ltd. GNC has been criticized for selling products from unproven or dubious sources, and the company has been fined for selling products that are counterfeit or illegally imported.
The question of whether GNC is owned by Rite Aid has been a subject of debate for years. In February 2013, GNC became a subsidiary of Rite Aid Corporation, and the company’s ownership was not immediately clear.
Some reports suggested that GNC was owned by Rite Aid, while other reports suggested that GNC was not owned by Rite Aid. In September 2017, the Wall Street Journal reported that GNC was not owned by Rite Aid, and that the company was instead a subsidiary of a holding company that was owned by private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management.
