Latest news with #WholeHealthRx
TimesLIVE
10-05-2025
- Business
- TimesLIVE
Wellness companies eager to avoid WeightWatchers' fate embrace weight-loss drugs
WeightWatchers, when it filed for bankruptcy, said its weight management system stopped being attractive to customers given changing views about weight versus wellness, competition from telehealth companies fully embracing the weight-loss drugs, and even fitness influencers on TikTok. The company has an agreement with creditors to restructure its debt and quickly exit the court process. Adam McBride, CEO of telehealth company Eden, said WeightWatchers, which tried to pivot to telehealth and sell weight-loss drugs, had an old school system that relied on points and in-person gatherings that customers didn't like. 'I don't think that they were listening to their members,' McBride said. Eden and rival Noom both operate weight-focused telehealth platforms with integrated lifestyle coaching — something WeightWatchers struggled with. The newer companies have been selling unbranded versions of the in-demand weight-loss medications as part of their offerings. Clinical subscriptions that provide access to clinicians and prescription drugs make up over half of Noom's revenue, said CEO Geoff Cook. At rival Hims and Hers, compounded weight-loss drugs accounted for 20% of revenue last year, and even WeightWatchers relied partly on such revenue. Noom presents the drugs as a kind of superpower weight-loss tool, which the company said then drives customers to other parts of its platform. 'In the last month or two, people who are taking the meds are actually logging more meals,' said Noom's CEO. 'They're weighing in more and they're engaging in the other aspects of the Noom programme at a rate that's even better than the flagship programme.' Weight-loss drug bandwagon Other health companies see room for products and services that take advantage of the popularity of new weight-loss drugs, which some analysts forecast will have annual sales of $150bn in the next decade. Health retailer The Vitamin Shoppe has seen a spike in demand for supplements that could help with loss of appetite, decreasing muscle tone, and other GLP-1 side effects, said president Muriel Gonzalez. Sales of a set of supplements marketed to people taking such drugs jumped more than 20% from a year ago, a company spokesperson said. Last year, The Vitamin Shoppe launched a telehealth service, Whole Health Rx, that connects consumers with medical providers who can prescribe weight-loss drugs and recommend supplements to give people protein, fibre and multivitamins while on them. Other companies have made similar moves. Supplement-seller GNC, looking to capitalise on the trend, last year added a section in stores dedicated to GLP-1 users, selling protein powder and fibre. WeightWatchers itself is still trying to pivot. A spokesperson said in a statement that the GLP-1 drugs for weight loss are a growing and essential part of its business. It said its programme works, citing an internal study in which its clinic patients taking GLP-1 drugs lost 21% of their weight and then transitioned to its behavioural programme and lost another 2% after 13 weeks. But easy sales of cheaper versions of the drugs are ending, even as lawsuits remain. The US Food and Drug Administration is blocking sales of cheaper compounded versions of the drugs now that Wegovy and Zepbound and their related diabetes medicines — Ozempic and Mounjaro — are no longer in shortage. Selling cheaper versions of the drugs has been a huge profit driver for these companies, and the loss is an issue, said Morningstar healthcare analyst Karen Andersen. One path forward for wellness companies is to work with brand name drugmakers, Andersen said. 'Companies like Novo, they need partners that have access to patients,' she said. But finding creative ways to partner with key competitors is no small task, she added. 'It will be a rocky path.'
Daily Mail
23-04-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Retail group in bankruptcy crisis ditches strongest brand to stay afloat
A major retail group will sell its strongest brand as it struggles through the bankruptcy process. The Franchise Group, which owns businesses such as Pet Supplies Plus, Badcock Home Furniture and Buddy's Home Furnishings, is set to sell its prized possession - The Vitamin Shoppe. The franchise filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November last year as it faltered under $2 billion in debt. At the time of filing, Franchise said bankruptcy was necessary to protect its best performing brands. But less than six months later the company has etched out a deal to sell The Vitamin Shoppe. The group's best known brand will be sold off to private equity firms Kingswood Capital Management and Performance Investment Partners for $193.5 million. Next month the company will seek approval from a judge for its reorganization plan, which includes the sale. The Vitamin Shoppe, which sells a range of health and beauty products, has 650 stores across the country. The 50-year-old brand has remained successful despite the woes of its parent company, and announced expansion plans as recently as 2023. 'We are excited to partner with The Vitamin Shoppe team and help them build upon the success the business has enjoyed over the last forty-eight years,' Kingswood Partner Michael Niegsch and Performance Investment Partners Mark Genender said. The Vitamin Shoppe has invested in its brick-and-mortar stores in recent years, including launching its store-within-a-store concept which features wellness goods from local sellers. The company also launched a telehealth service called Whole Health Rx last May. The wellness economy was valued at $6.3 trillion in 2023, and could even reach $9 trillion by 2028, according to The Global Wellness Institute. The Franchise Group is just one of many companies which have filed for bankruptcy in recent years - including popular restaurant chains and healthcare companies. As part of Franchise's restructuring, the company called time on its American Freight furniture chain and closed all 357 of its locations. The chain, which counts Wayfair and Big Lots as rivals, sold beds, mattresses, sofas, fridges, ovens, ranges and dishwashers. Franchise Group blamed the bankruptcy on a post-pandemic sales slump as stimulus funds dried up and inflation-weary consumers cut back on spending. The business also suffered in the wake of a federal probe into its CEO Brian Kahn. Kahn was investigated for his dealings with the firm that had taken Franchise Group private in August 2023. Franchise Group claimed in its filings that the situation had scared off possible partners that might have helped with a rescue deal. Franchise Group's 'operating businesses, and primarily American Freight, continued to encounter headwinds driven by the macro-economic and other factors,' David Orlofsky, Franchise Group's chief restructuring officer, said at the time. 'Together with the allegations against Mr. Kahn, adversely impacted Franchise Group's ability to sell or otherwise monetize any of its other businesses,' he explained. Other traditional health giants have failed to compete with the rise of medical breakthroughs such as Ozempic and Wegovy. WeightWatchers has plans to file for bankruptcy in the coming months as it struggles under the weight of $1.6 billion in debt. Many of its former customers are turning to a new generation of weight-loss drugs that help them shed pounds with far less effort.
