Complete Nutrition Franchise Failures
Complete Nutrition is a well-known retailer of high-quality nutritional supplements. They offer a personalized shopping experience with a focus on health and fitness. However, the company has been embroiled in several lawsuits for deceptive business practices.
Complete Nutrition is in the News Again
It has come to light that the company has been hiding massive debt from its customers and franchisees. According to a recent article by CBS News, Complete Nutrition has over $26 million dollars in debt. That is currently being managed by Monroe Capital. This information was never disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD), which is required by law.
Cons about Investing in Complete Nutrition Franchise
Franchisees are up in arms about the situation and are threatening to file a class-action lawsuit. Complete Nutrition has issued a statement saying that they are working on a resolution and that they “intend to resolve this matter as soon as possible.” This is not the first time that Complete Nutrition has been in hot water.
My Wife and I bought into a Complete Nutrition Franchise in July 2016 and Opened October 14 2016. As a US Army veteran and my wife being a Korean immigrant having the support of a franchise seemed ideal as I support the DoD fulltime.»
It has since been a nightmare and an extreme financial and family burden as the franchisor has delivered minimal support. We have been doing owner cash injections since First quarter 2018 to maintain the business operation.»
Yotta LLC, our Maryland registered business DBA Complete Nutrition opened October 14 2016. We paid $45,000 + $15,000 of our savings to the franchisor for the right to own and operate two Complete Nutrition stores.»
A Highly Inoperative Franchise System
We opened an SBA 7a loan ($180,000) to develop the first location and were unable to open the second due to franchisor difficulties. Mandatory use of affiliaante cost us $43,000 in furniture and systems, $4,000 in real estate and location support company (which got us into a horrible lease and we ended up doing $6,000 in repairs for HVAC).
The franchisor checked out the construction company, was not licensed in Maryland ($69,000) and created a sewer gas leak incident discovered four months after completion ($5,500 repair + 3 days of lost business for us and the adjoining restaurant). In addition, our mandated initial stock ($34,300) was delivered with over 50% expired and out-of-stock products.»
Complete Nutrition and a Prenegotiated Pricing Model
We were led to believe that all products, both Complete Nutrition branded and approved third party products, were under pre-negotiated pricing models. Upon discovering this falsehood after discussing pricing with another franchisee; no explanation was provided to us.
The franchisor discontinued store planning support in April 2017, with no marketing support during 2017. In the first quarter of 2018 we were forced into a modification agreement or receive a fine and an increase in royalties.
Some franchisees still have a lawsuit on this matter, however, we did not have the working capital to fight it. There were no new products from Q2 2017 to Q3 2018, which further diminished the brand and the market. Mandatory in-store consumables (bags, stationery, etc…) were also unavailable, while required marketing supplies (thank you cards, shaker bottles, t-shirts, etc…) were provided at inflated prices.”
14/3/2019
FTC Online Complaints
Conclusion
There are a number of complaints that have been filed against Complete Nutrition franchises. Some of these complaints include deceptive business practices, lack of support from the franchisor, and high initial investment costs. Additionally, the pricing model for products is not as transparent as franchisees were led to believe. As a result, it is not advisable to invest in a Complete Nutrition franchise.
If you have any further questions about Complete Nutrition or its franchises, please feel free to reach out to us. We would be happy to help!
