More than five months after its owner, Franchise Group, filed for bankruptcy, The Vitamin Shoppe will be acquired by private equity firms Kingswood Capital Management and Performance Investment Partners.
The news is a boon to vendors and suppliers who sell health and wellness products to the 650-unit chain. Its new owners have vowed to make upgrades. Currently, over 700 suppliers are in The Vitamin Shoppe’s ecosystem.
In addition to the vitamin and supplement chain, Franchise Group also owns Buddy’s Home Furnishings and Pet Supplies Plus. The hardware and home-furnishing chain American Freight was shuttered by the Franchise Group at the end of 2024, though a handful of stores were scooped up by AF Newco with plans to keep them open.
The Vitamin Shoppe is No. 253 in Digital Commerce 360’s Top 2000 database. The database ranks North America’s largest online retailers by annual web sales. Digital Commerce 360 projects that its online sales will reach $362.75 million in 2025.
The Vitamin Shoppe web sales by year
Why The Vitamin Shoppe was acquired by private equity
While the purchase price was not publicly announced, Bloomberg Law reported that the deal was valued at $193.5 million. The Vitamin Shoppe was the most valuable brand in the FRG’s stable. However, the publication noted that that was still not enough to repay $2 billion in debt that is still owed. The sale will have to be approved by a bankruptcy judge. If the sale is approved, it should close in the second quarter.
Meanwhile, plans are underway for upgrades.
“We plan to make significant investments in the company’s third-party brand relationships, research and development across The Vitamin Shoppe’s owned proprietary brand portfolio, upgrades to the store fleet, and improvements to the omni-channel digital platform to deliver the best possible experience to customers,” Kingswood partner Michael Niegsch and Performance Investment partner Mark Genender said in a joint statement.
The statement from Kingswood and Performance highlighted the benefit the chain brings to the wellness universe of suppliers and vendors.
“The Vitamin Shoppe is the perfect partner for emerging and growing brands that can benefit from access to over 650 retail doors and The Vitamin Shoppe’s millions of loyalty members at a time in history when it is more important than ever for these brands to demonstrate success and traction in physical retail as well as online,” the new owners said.
What Kingswood and Performance are buying
The Vitamin Shoppe has been actively building its online and overall omnichannel strategy. Those efforts include a deal reached in 2024 to distribute The Vitamin Shoppe’s branded products through a deal with the international online retailer iHerb.
According to The Vitamin Shoppe’s president, Muriel Gonzalez, the retailer’s strong position in the rapidly growing sports nutrition sphere was one of the cornerstones of the deal.
“[W]e’re especially pleased to now offer our high-quality supplements and advanced sports nutrition formulas to millions of new consumers in markets around the world, via the global reach of iHerb,” she stated.
Kingswood or Performance did not return a message from Digital Commerce about planned changes to the chain or Gonzalez’s future role. Gonzalez has been with The Vitamin Shoppe since 2020. Before that, she spent 12 years with Macy’s. The Vitamin Shoppe is based in Secaucus, New Jersey.
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