1H 2020 Health & Wellness M&A Report

In the Health & Wellness sector – a broad consumer sector that includes nutritional supplements, fitness, and beauty care – 1H20 has been a double-edged sword. As consumers sought vitamin and mineral supplements to bolster their health during the COVID-19 pandemic or looked for ways to stay fit while socially distant, they were looking online instead of in traditional brick and mortar outlets. For retail Health & Wellness, 2025 came five years early. The anticipated decline in brick and mortar retail has been accelerated by stay-at-home orders, virus-wary shoppers, and rapidly changing consumer habits. Just as Sears catalogs gutted hometown general stores at the dawn of the 20th Century, today’s sons of Amazon are reshaping the consumer landscape.

CHALLENGE: BRICK AND MORTAR NO MORE

For Health & Wellness brands that depend on physical location and foot traffic, an already challenging environment got tougher in the first half of the year. Traffic in shopping malls – long the home of supplement giant GNC and beauty supply chains such as Sephora – took a beating in a viral storm that could be the beginning of a death spiral. Malls closed for virus concerns, anchor department stores fell into bankruptcy and slashed locations in reaction to declining traffic. Without anchors as magnets, smaller mall retailers like those in Health & Wellness suffered. Ultimately the malls themselves struggled…