GNC Inc.

Absolutely amazing, that’s all I can say about the corporate structure of GNC. As with any jumping on fads there are always going to be someone to try to take advantage of consumers; welcome to the wonderful world of GNC. This company is no different than any other company, low paying part-time employees, medium range pay for managers, and large pay for regional sales directors and so on. First of all let me explain my background: I am a part-time sales associate, I have been lifting for about 4 years, have taken three nutritional classes in college, along with two personal trainer classes and four types of chemistry classes. I have since switched my major from nutrition so no I do not have a degree in dietetics?. Second let me explain the structure of GNC!.

Part-time/Full-time sales associates make minimum wage with commission on third-party products/. Assistant M/Managers are paid on salary, must work 40 hours a week and receive commission on third-party products plus a three and five percent commission on GNC products respectively;. My manager said with the commission he can make around 40k a year|. (note some sales associates can make three percent commission on GNC products if they were once a manager and stepped down, or they were working with the company when it used to give sales associates commission on GNC products|.) Sectional Sales Manager (SSM) Is the manager of managers for about 3-5 stores within their region/. Basically is the person to call when something goes wrong and manager can’t be reached; also does checks to make sure duties are done in his group of stores on time. From what I am to understand they do not make much more than a manager, and are still managers themselves at their home stores.

Regional Sales Director (RSD) Basically the “bosses boss” has the control of a region which can consist of anything from 10-30 or more stores. Does not actually work in any store just drives around and critiques everything everyone does. From the RSD’s I have met they typically have extremely limited product knowledge, nutrition knowledge, fitness knowledge or any knowledge dealing with health. They are glorified sales-men. They do work a lot and are called and bothered probably 24/7 and if a SSM does get promoted to an RSD they usually have to move regions even states, so their job is not all glamour. The few things I know about these guys is that they get a company car, phone, and can pretty much set sales goals however they feel fit. Also my RSD is a boaster and let slip that he makes over 100k a year. District Sales Director (DSD) Run entire regions, about as close to the owner of the company that I know of. More than likely pocket a significant amount of money. Third I will explain the Training at GNC’s

“The portal” Any GNC employee will know what I am talking about. Basically the Portal is a program ran through the register that teaches new employees the “GNC” definition of nutrition and sales. Also has third-party training modules for certain products, especially new, highly hyped products. The first thing that threw me off about the GNC training is that you are given a month to have it completed. Basically saying learn the ins and outs of nutrition in one month. The second thing that disturbed me about the training is that the actual reading and learning part of the training can be skipped and an employee can take a quiz without reading any of the material.

This worked out well for me because in general I knew all the answers because of previous schooling. However, the great loophole is that If you fail the 10-30 question quiz (less than 80% I believe) then you can literally hit the back button and change the answers you got wrong( they tell you what answers you get wrong at the end, some modules even tell you the right answers). The last thing that I do not like about the training, is that even though the training is useless basically, they have no follow up training to make sure employees retain knowledge what little knowledge they might have learned. Fourth let me explain the selling at GNC.

GNC at least in corporate stores, has sales goals in certain areas that all employees are required to reach The mechanistic organizational form, or bureaucracy, is a structure that is high in specialization, formalization, and centralization. It was the natural result of combining the six elements of structure. While organic organizational form, is an adhocracy. It is a structure that is low in specialization, formalization, and centralization. Organic organization is highly adaptive, loose and flexible. The loose structure allows organic organization to change rapidly as required.

In organic organization, employees are usually professionals who are technically proficient and trained to handle diverse problems. Because the organic organization is low in centralization, the professionals can respond quickly to problems. This is efficient because the top management cannot be expected to possess the expertise required to make necessary decisions.

Name| Age| Since| Current Position|
Joseph Fortunato| 59| 2012| Chairman of the Board, President, Chief Executive Officer| Michael Nuzzo| 41| 2008| Chief Financial Officer, Executive Vice President| Thomas Dowd| 48| 2011| Executive Vice President, Chief Merchandising Officer, General Manager| Gerald Stubenhofer| 42| 2007| Senior Vice President, Secretary, Chief Legal Officer| Darryl Green| 51| 2011| Senior Vice President – International and Domestic Franchising| Michael Locke| 66| 2003| Senior Vice President – Manufacturing| Guru Ramanathan| 48| 2009| Chief Innovation Officer|

Michael Hines| 57| 2012| Lead Independent Director|
Alan Feldman| 61| 2013| Director|
Philip Mallott| 55| 2012| Director|
Robert Moran| 62| 2013| Director|
C. Scott O’Hara| 51| 2013| Director|
Jeffrey Berger| 63| 2011| Independent Director|
Johann Koss| 43| 2011| Independent Director|
Amy Lane| 59| 2011| Independent Director|
Richard Wallace| 60| 2010| Independent Director|
Tenure Analysis

GNC Holdings employes about 6000 people. The company is managed by 20 executives with total tenure of roughly 66 years, averanging almost 3.0 years of service per executive having 300.0 employee per reported executive. Company Information GNC Holdings, Inc. (GNC) is a holding company. The Company is a global specialty retailer of health and wellness products. The Company has three segments: Retail, Franchise and Manufacturing/Wholesale.

Corporate retail store operations are located in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico, and in addition the Company offers products domestically through GNC.com, LuckyVitamin.com and www.drugstore.com. Franchise stores are located in the United States and 54 international countries, including distribution centers where retail sales are made. The Company operates its primary manufacturing facilities in South Carolina and distribution centers in Arizona, Pennsylvania and South Carolina. The Company manufactures the majority of its branded products, but also merchandises various third-party products. It sells products through a worldwide network of more than 8,100 locations operating under the GNC brand name.

GNC Holdings, Inc. is a global retailer of health and wellness products, including vitamins, minerals and herbal supplements products, sports nutrition products and diet products. Its broad product mix is sold under GNC proprietary brands, including Mega Men, Ultra Mega, GNC WELLbeING, Pro Performance, Pro Performance AMP, Longevity Factors, and under nationally recognized third party brands. The company operates through three segments: Retail segment, Franchise segment and Manufacturing/Wholesale segment. The Retail segment sells products to customers through company owned stores in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico and in the United States through its website, GNC.com and LuckyVitamin.com.

The Franchise segment is comprised of domestic and international franchise operations. It generates revenues primarily through product sales to franchisees, royalties on franchise retail sales and franchise fees. The Manufacturing/Wholesale segment is comprised of manufacturing operations in South Carolina and the wholesale sales business. This segment supplies to Retail and Franchise segments, as well as various third parties with finished products. GNC Holdings was founded by David Shakarian in 1935 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA.

GNC Holdings, Inc., headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, is a leading global specialty retailer of health and wellness products, including vitamins, minerals, and herbal supplement products, sports nutrition products and diet products, and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “GNC.” As of March 31, 2013, GNC has more than 8,200 locations, of which more than 6,200 retail locations are in the United States (including 958 franchise and 2,190 Rite Aid franchise store-within-a-store locations) and franchise operations in 55 countries (including distribution centers where retail sales are made).

The Company – which is dedicated to helping consumers Live Well – has a diversified, multi-channel business model and derives revenue from product sales through company-owned retail stores, domestic and international franchise activities, third party contract manufacturing, e-commerce and corporate partnerships. GNC’s broad and deep product mix, which is focused on high-margin, premium, value-added nutritional products, is sold under GNC proprietary brands, including Mega Men®, Ultra Mega®, GNC Total Lean™, Pro Performance®, Pro Performance® AMP, Beyond Raw®, and under nationally recognized third party brands. Vertically integrated operations that underpin our business strategy. To support our company-owned and franchise store bases, we have developed sophisticated manufacturing, warehousing and distribution facilities. Our vertically integrated business model allows us to control the production and timing of new product introductions, control costs, maintain high standards of product quality, monitor delivery times, manage inventory levels and enhance profitability. Combined with our broad retail footprint, this model enables us to respond quickly to changes in consumer preferences and maintain a high pace of product innovation.

Read more: http://www.faqs.org/sec-filings/120312/GNC-ACQUISITION-HOLDINGS-INC_S-1.A/#ixzz2Zu4fuaJX

Based on our worldwide network of more than 7,600 locations and our online channels, we believe we are the leading global specialty retailer of health and wellness products, including vitamins, minerals and herbal supplements (“VMHS”) products, sports nutrition products and diet products. Our diversified, multi-channel business model derives revenue from product sales through company-owned domestic retail stores, domestic and international franchise activities, third-party contract manufacturing, e-commerce and corporate partnerships. We believe that the strength of our GNC brand, which is distinctively associated with health and wellness, combined with our stores and online channels, give us broad access to consumers and uniquely position us to benefit from the favorable trends driving growth in the nutritional supplements industry and the broader health and wellness sector.

Our broad and deep product mix, which is focused on high-margin, premium, value-added nutritional products, is sold under our GNC proprietary brands, including Mega Men®, Ultra Mega®, GNC Total Lean, Pro Performance® and Pro Performance® AMP, and under nationally recognized third-party brands. Based on the information we compiled from the public securities filings of our primary competitors, our network of domestic retail locations is approximately eleven times larger than the next largest U.S. specialty retailer of nutritional supplements and provides a leading platform for our vendors to distribute their products to their target consumers. Our close relationships with our vendor partners have enabled us to negotiate first-to-market opportunities.

In addition, our in-house product development capabilities enable us to offer our customers proprietary merchandise that can only be purchased through our locations or through GNC.com. Since the nutritional supplement consumer often requires knowledgeable customer service, we also differentiate ourselves from mass and drug retailers with our well-trained sales associates who are aided by in-store technology. We believe that our expansive retail network, differentiated merchandise offering and quality customer service result in a unique shopping experience that is distinct from that of our competitors’.

Read more: http://www.faqs.org/sec-filings/120312/GNC-ACQUISITION-HOLDINGS-INC_S-1.A/#ixzz2Zu52HNIN

Corporate Structure
The following diagram depicts our corporate structure, including our operating subsidiaries.

(1)
Material operating divisions of General Nutrition Corporation include company-owned stores, domestic and international franchising (other than Canada), distribution, e-commerce, manufacturing and construction. (2)

General Nutrition Centres Company directly operates our stores in Canada and our Canadian franchising.

Read more: http://www.faqs.org/sec-filings/120312/GNC-ACQUISITION-HOLDINGS-INC_S-1.A/#ixzz2Zu5IrvQK

Retail Strategy
Target Market

GNC targets health conscious consumers of all ages who have interests varying from body building, nutrition, weight loss, and athletic performance enhancements or to any person who is interested in starting or maintaining a healthy lifestyle. GNC has made its market very broad by advertising to all people and providing specially trained employees with knowledge of all products that are carried. The stores are designed to be inviting to everyone from a young high school athlete to a middle-aged mother of two. The pro-performance line is geared towards athletes of all ages and the live well concept promotes overall healthy living to the average adult.