Vitamin And Supplement Catalog Store Articles & Resources

Indeed, more than any other category, vitamins and supplements are a lot like baseball in springtime--it's still anyone's ballgame. The manufacturers seem to agree; while there are many players within the category vying for leadership, there is no single company that can be considered a clear winner.

And, just as the age of free agency made the game of baseball that much more interesting, the age of consolidation--which has swept across every quadrant of the chain drug industry--has brought a little extra excitement to the vitamin world. This summer, suppliers have been buying and selling properties like baseball teams trading marquis ballplayers.

IVC and Chattem take prizes

Upon returning home from the National Association of Chain Drug Stores' Marketplace Conference late last June, the industry learned that the Federal Trade Commission had Ok'd HealthRite Inc.'s sale of the Vitamin Specialties health food/vitamin chain to IVC Industries, based in Freehold, ., for approximately $3 million including inventory.

With its decision to acquire the Vitamin Specialties chain, IVC Industries tossed its hat into the retail ring. Vitamin Specialties, which first opened its doors back in 1941, includes 15 stores located throughout the greater metropolitan Philadelphia area and stretching into the suburbs of southern New Jersey, as well as a home catalog sales division. Naturally, it provides IVC a direct-to-consumer distribution outlet for the company's vitamin lines, which include the high profile Fields of Nature brand.

Quite conversely, HealthRite's decision to throw in its retail towel and jettison the Vitamin Specialties operation was sparked by an interest in acquiring additional capital with which to advance its nationally branded nutritional supplement lines, which include Medifast, Montana Naturals and Nautilus Nutritionals. Owings Mills, HealthRite operates Take Shape Nutrition Centers, which are featured in select Wal-Mart locations. The company also recently received a commitment from First Bank of Missoula to help finance its expansion plans for its Montana Naturals line.

Meanwhile, as IVC and HealthRite were busy dotting I's and crossing T's, Chattem Inc. was eyeing its acquisition of substantially all of the assets of Sunsource International. The deal, which also had cleared the FTC by late June, sent five major supplement brands, representing the bulk of Sunsource's business, over to Chattem for a reported $ million, approximately one and a half times Sunsource's 1996 sales mark of $25 million. The former Sunsource brands affected by the deal include: Garlique, a garlic extract; Rejuvex, a supplement for menopausal women; Melatonex, a sleep aid; Echinex, an immune system enhancer; and Propalmex, a supplement for men's prostate health. Other products include a lesser known line of six herbals.

The move follows on the heels of Chattem's other major acquisitions in recent years, and marks the company's entry into the vitamin and supplement category. Last spring also proved to be a busy acquisition season for the Chattanooga, company, as Chattem added the Gold Bond medicated powder and Herpecin-L medicated lip balm brands to its stable of leading products, which includes Phisoderm skin cleansers and the external analgesic Icy Hot.

Rexall-Twinlab merger to follow?

As this edition of Drug Store News went to press, executives at Rexall Sundown Inc. and Twinlab Corp. were still negotiating Rexall's purchase of the Long Island, .-based Twinlab, in a proposed deal involving a stock swap valued at a reported $707 million.

The deal, if it is approved, would stand to elevate Rexall, headquartered in Boca Raton, Fla., to among the ranks of the country's largest vitamin/supplement manufacturers. Rexall, which already markets the highly successful Sundown vitamin line, would add Twinlab's branded line of supplements, including herbal and sports nutrition products.

As news of the merger negotiations hit, Rexall stock, which had nearly doubled over the past several months, dipped a little over 9 percent to $ per share, while Twinlab stock closed for that day at $, up cents.

And so, as vendors vie for a leadership position in the race for the vitamin and supplement pennant, one thing is certain: It's never over until the fat lady sings--or, any other bad baseball adage you care to throw in there.