The brick-and-mortar vitamin industry has been floundering for years. Vitamin Shoppe is currently looking for a turnaround, and Vitamin World filed for bankruptcy in 2017. Vitamin and supplement retail shop General Nutrition Centers (GNC), so far, has avoided bankruptcy court, yet it has been struggling against an oppressive $1.38 billion in long-term debt. Because of the massive owe, its share price sunk 66% in 2017 as investors expressed a wane in confidence.
To recover profit, in 2018, GNC closed 200 stores, and it secured an investment from a Chinese company. As part of the plan, GNC officials received $100 million from Harbin Pharmaceutical Group, a Chinese pharmaceutical giant. In exchange, the Chinese company procured 100,000 shares of GNC stock for just over $4, which, incidentally, has been trading in the neighborhood of $2 to $3 per share.
PetSmart Inc.
This big box pet supplies retailer was plagued by the common culprits: stiff competition and too much debt. To tackle online sales competition, PetSmart Inc. went even deeper into debt. The company purchased its online competitor, e-tailer site Chewy, for $3.35 billion. That particular acquisition was the most expensive online retail store purchase in history.
PetSmart is the world’s largest brick-and-mortar pet supply store. In all, 1,600 stores and 55,000 employees make up the chain that operates throughout the United States and Canada. Also, attending the mammoth pet care emporium is an equally massive debt to the tune of $8.1 billion. It has been a rough few years (no pun intended).
CVS
The CVS pharmacy empire was comprised of over 9,900 stores making it the largest pharmacy chain in the U.S. In 2019, CVS announced plans to shutter 46 underperforming CVS stores across 16 states. Gone forever are four CVS stores in California, four in Florida, seven in Illinois, and eight in Texas. It’s a small percentage of the company’s properties.
CVS is also slowing its growth by adding 300 stores per year. Growing stores is less important as CVS has moved toward a larger healthcare aspect to its existing business by remodeling stores into what they call HealthHUBs. Compared with Walgreens, which closed 200 stores in 2019, CVS’ 46 store closings are a relatively minor issue.
Kmart
The good news is Kmart survived a major bankruptcy. The super discount store emerged from bankruptcy just this year, but it is battered and beaten, having lost thousands of stores before and during the Retail Apocalypse. But 2018 wasn’t the store’s first brush with bankruptcy.
Kmart also filed for Chapter 11 in 2002. Since the more recent bankruptcy in 2018, the chain has been reduced to a measly 200 locations, and there is more to come. During the first filing, the chain collapsed and merged with Sears. The recent announcement of store closings affects both stores, and about 26 stores in total disappeared.
Bon-Ton
Established in 1898, Bon-Ton department stores survived WWI and WWII, but not the invention of internet shopping. In fact, during WWI and through the Roaring Twenties, Bon-Ton was in its heyday. In 2018, the York, Pennsylvania-based company closed its 250 stores, liquidated its merchandise, and left vacant large department store-sized leases. It was the largest retail bankruptcy of the year.
Bon-Ton, the name derived from a British term of the day, of French origin, with references to proper manners and high society, may once again don storefronts. The company also operated under the names Bergner’s, Boston Store, Carson’s, Elder-Beerman, Herberger’s, and Younkers. It’s not easy to make it in retail these days but with the help of large venture capital firms and those plans to relaunch the store, who knows what will happen.