The products will be distributed through drug stores, home stores, supermarkets and mass market retailers in addition to GNC stores, expanding GNC's presence in the retail channel. The line is scheduled to hit stores the end of this year in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.


Initial offerings will include heart rate and blood pressure monitors, weight scales, exercise accessories and electronic pill boxes, and will be followed by pedometers, thermometers, stopwatches, sunrise clocks, massagers, grooming products, soap dispensers, UV cleaning, humidifiers, air/water purifiers, MP3 workout cases and workout headphones.

"Until now, the GNC brand has been largely confined to our 7,100 plus GNC stores," says Tom Dowd, executive vice president of stores, operations and development for GNC. "This license reflects a strategic decision to leverage our strong brand recognition in order to provide consumers with health and wellness products offering GNC reliability regardless of where they are shopping."