GNC finishing worst year since IPO

GNC Holdings, which operates several stores in the Corridor, is limping to the finish of its worst year since it went public in 2011, and the vitamin retailer is leaving shareholders with little to get excited about in the next 12 months.

The company's shares have plunged by more than 64 percent in 2016 as foot traffic fell at its more than 4,400 U.S. stores and customers cut down on buying vitamins and nutritional supplements.

Once a Wall Street darling, Pittsburgh-based GNC's market value has dropped by about $5 billion since its peak in 2013 as it battled slumping sales and aggressive competition from online sellers and Wal-Mart Stores. Even after the decline, only one of the 10 analysts who follow the stock recommend buying it.

Interim CEO Bob Moran, a board member who took the helm in July, is trying to turn around the operation. He's unifying GNC's pricing system to make it less confusing, rolling out promotions and boosting loyalty programs in an attempt to relaunch the brand. The chain also will run its first-ever commercial during the Super Bowl in February, a bold but costly gambit.

GNC revenue has dropped for three straight quarters.

The retailer also has held discussions with several Chinese suitors about a possible sale, but those talks have stalled following disagreements over the structure of a deal, people with knowledge of the matter said this month.