UPDATE (6/25): The two Sioux Falls locations and the Brookings store are locally owned and operated and will remain open. 

The corporate landscape in America continues to see enormous fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, and now another chain with locations in Sioux Falls is on the verge of a massive wave of store closings.

General Nutrition Centers (GNC) has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, according to a report from USA Today.

The parent company of the Pittsburgh-based nutrition chain said in a statement on their website that 'as part of our restructuring, we expect to accelerate the closure of at least 800 to 1,200 stores.'

GNC currently has a pair of Sioux Falls stores - one at the Empire Mall and the other at Dawley Farm.

This is not the first time the chain, which dates back to 1935, has announced plans to close locations. In November 2018, GNC officials said they would close up to 900 stores over the next three years in the U.S. and Canada. In June of 2019, the company announced they would be shuttering 900 mall locations in 2020 due to slumping sales.

Nationwide, GNC 5,200 locations. Worldwide that number is 7,300 locations.

Already in Sioux Falls, we've seen longstanding businesses like Gordmans and Pier One announce that they are closing their doors for good, in large part to a massive drop in sales during this pandemic.


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