Retail

Flex, Nov, 2003

NO MATTER HOW FANTASTIC the manufacturing and distribution of a supplement is, it won't do you any good if you can't grab a fat tub of it off the shelf at a gym or in a retail store, buy it at the counter and stash it in your gym bag. That's where retailers such as General Nutrition Centers Inc. come in. Here's how this step in the supplement life cycle works.

"A THIRD-PARTY PRODUCT [any non-GNC brand] can be carried on the shelves of more than 5,000 GNC stores worldwide if it meets certain criteria," says Stephanie Mangini, GNC's director of public Relations. "During an initial Meeting between the third-party Company representatives and the GNC brand team, products are reviewed and discussed." Then, based on cost, public need for the product, product demographics and the marketing the vendor will provide to support and promote the product, GNC decides whether a product or line of products will be sold in GNC retail stores, Mangini explains.

When a product is approved for GNC stores, shipping dates to both the GNC distribution centers as well as retail stores are determined, Mangini says. Then, an in-store merchandising plan is created that details the product's placement in the stores and promotional setups for the product when necessary. Before the product is released, store associates are briefed concerning product information and the in-store merchandising plan for the product.

"Once the product has been received by the distribution centers and reviewed by GNC's Quality Control department, it is released and shipped to the stores via GNC trucks," adds Mangini. "It is then inventoried at the store and placed on the shelf for sale." Now the supplements are waiting for you. All you need to do is go pick them up.