Finding the right mix of product offerings is usually the biggest hurdle that a small retail operation has to overcome in its journey to profit and success. If the company’s product base is too limited, its customer base may change and move on as tastes change. If the company’s product base is to diversified, it may find a fracturing of the core customer base. If it can blend a diversified product line, however, it will be ready for growth and the possibility of the Holy Grail of retail…the franchise.
Planet Nutrition Inc., a retail nutrition chain, offers a full range of dietary supplements, nutrition drinks and health related products to the general public. Although recent announcements regarding a letter of understanding relating to exercise equipment will be important to the company’s future development, the company will likely see its major profit potential arise from franchising opportunities.
If a comparison were to be made regarding similar operations, it might be best to compare against the GNC Nutrition model. The comparison, however, would be somewhat limited in that Planet Nutrition Inc. also offers several distinctly different product lines than GNC Nutrition. With over 15 major supplement product lines being offered, nutrition supplements are the core product base of the company. From this base, however, the company also offers other non-traditional nutrition products such as nutrition “smoothies” and sun tanning options. In a certain sense, product offerings past the operations main nutrition lines might be considered “wellness” products rather than nutrition products.
Likely intended to broaden the company’s overall focus on health and wellness, Planet Nutrition’s’ recent understanding with Extreme Fitness will not only add a different consumer to its nutritional products customer base, but a somewhat differing product as well. Extreme Fitness is an exercise equipment manufacturer with an educated and dedicated following. Largely selling its equipment to professional sports teams, advanced athletes and many US Olympic training venues by word-of-mouth sales, this soon-to-be subsidiary (after shareholder approval) was founded by educated engineers with a flair and talent for taking ideas from paper to gym, all in-house.
From a retail nutrition sales standpoint, Planet Nutrition appears to be growing toward a one-stop health wellness franchise operation with further product opportunities opening in the process. It seems that the founders of this now morphing concern have a long range growth plan and are beginning to make the initial stages of it happen.
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