What Should GNC do to adjust to the Spanish market?

Companies today need to deploy fundamentally different strategies when expanding to Global markets. Customs, laws, and economies of scale are factors that effect the potential longevity of a business that wants to expand to a new location in a different country. GNC should implement the following if they were to expand to Spain:

1. Penetrate retail stores such as El Corte Ingles to sell products for high margins

Products can be sold for a higher price and create even higher margins for the supplements. Ideally opening up a mini “GNC” storefront in El Corte Ingles to strengthen the brand and remind people that they are buying from a trusted name.

1. Get well liked Spanish Athletes such as Christiano Ronaldo endorse supplements. In the US this has a very powerful effect. and people think that the supplement is effective because their favorite athlete said so.

2. Sell in supermarkets where consumers are buying food. Supplements and food go hand. Customers may make it part of their routine to buy supplements in the markets that they go to every day.

3. License GNC franchises to small private supplement shop owners and help them convert to GNC brand stores. These small time owners already have a large consumer base and know the market. Branding their store with GNC will take their business to the next level and provide mutual profitability for GNC. There is a lot of opportunity for this because 40% of sales are from private vendors in Spain. These private vendors have a very small selection of products and the new GNC’s could create higher demand for private label and other high margin product.

4. Create the right message for Spanish consumers – markets in the UK, Sweden exhibit a tendency to consume dietary supplements in order to promote better health, whereas in France and Germany these products are consumed to correct deficiencies. The message of the goals of Spanish supplements must be conveyed to the customer and understood their needs.

5. Competition In the Spanish Dietary supplement industry, 40% of sales come from small private vendors. It is not a thriving industry at the moment due to high prices from importing brands combined with a slow economy where people do not want to pay these high prices. The fact that the average unit price of vitamins and dietary supplements is high and the unemployment rate in Spain will likely surpass 22%, will negatively affect its performance

Competitor: https://www.vitaminspain.com/

Advantages of Vitaminspain.com:

1. Sell Top Brands
2. All of the Brands are licensed in Spain
3. Order is processed in 48 Hours
4. Can pay through Paypal (GNC Does not have this Option)
5. Satisfaction guaranteed or money back

These advantages allow Vitaminspain to compete with GNC by matching some of their core competencies and also allowing Paypal transactions. Vitaminspain sells only online.

Spain’s supplement market lags far behind France, Germany, Italy and the UK. It is estimated that just 7 per cent of the adult population use vitamins and supplements. This compares to around 43 per cent in Germany. Manufacturers have to identify markets, which are not saturated and offer high potential for growth. Low production costs and low priced products are the ones that provide competitive advantage to the manufacturers. Vitaminspain has great supplier connections to price their products low and sell for a high margin.

For More Information about GNC see: GNC Corporation General Overview