Healthy Back, also known as The Healthy Back Store, was a chain of stores centered in Maryland and Virginia that sold products aimed at helping people with back pain or other physical conditions. The company stated on its website www.healthyback.com that it is out of business as of September 20, 2023. The company was founded by Anthony Mazlish in 1994 in Rockville, Maryland after he suffered a back injury and found there was an open niche for a specialty back retailer.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Healthy Back has 19 locations in 7 states and a corporate office in Beltsville, Maryland.[7] They are currently the largest independently owned back care retailer.[8] A 2008 report quoted the founder as stating that e-commerce made up 40% of their sales.[9]

On April 1, 2015, the Healthy Back Store filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy (Case 15-14653) in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland.[10]

Acquisitions

In the late 1990s, the Healthy Back Store acquired three Natural Back Stores in California, bringing the chain to 8 locations.[11] Healthy Back bought out the Maryland-based JoAnne's Bed and Back chain of stores for $600,000 in 2008 following the latter's filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier that year.[12] At the time of the merger, Healthy Back's sales were $40 million per year, and Joanne's $10 million.[12] Joanne's had played a role in Mazlish's entry into the back business, when he purchased a back cushion from the chain's Tyson's Corner location upon first moving to the District in 1993.[9]

As early as 1998, US News noted that the four major back-related stores, Healthy Back Store, Better Back Store, Relax the Back, and JoAnne's Bed & Back Shops, had a combined business of $75 million.[13]

References

  1. ↑ "Some Places to Find Products in Stores and on the Web". The Washington Post. March 29, 2001. Archived from the original on March 29, 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  2. ↑ "Back on His Feet: Tony Mazlish". Georgetown Magazine. Retrieved 2015-02-04.
  3. ↑ James E. Dion (2008). The Complete Idiot's Guide to Starting and Running a Retail Store. Alpha Books. pp. 58–. ISBN 978-1-59257-726-2.
  4. ↑ Margaret Webb Pressler (March 3, 1998). "Stores Aimed at Bad Backs Aren't Slouching". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 14, 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  5. ↑ Gelzinis[h], Peter (October 19, 2002). "Making a living puts some in line of fire". The Boston Herald. Archived from the original on March 29, 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  6. ↑ Doran, G. David (September 1, 1998). "No pain, big gain: how do back products retailers spell relief? S-A-L-E-S". Entrepreneur. Archived from the original on November 14, 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  7. ↑ "Store Locations". Healthyback.com. Retrieved 2015-02-04.
  8. ↑ "About Us | the Healthy Back Store". Archived from the original on 2015-02-06. Retrieved 2015-02-11.
  9. 1 2 "Rival Buys JoAnne's Bed & Back Assets". Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2015-02-04.
  10. ↑ Fitzgerald, Patrick (2015-04-01). "Maryland's Healthy Back Store Files for Bankruptcy". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  11. ↑ Doran, David (31 August 1998). "No Pain, Big Gain: How do back products retailers spell relief? S-A-L-E-S". No. September 1998. Entrepreneur. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  12. 1 2 "The Healthy Back Store buys JoAnne's Bed & Back Stores, closes stores -". Washington Business Journal – Bizjournals.com. 2008-05-19. Retrieved 2015-02-04.
  13. ↑ U.S. News & World Report. U.S. News Publishing Corporation. 1998. p. 194.
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