The purpose of NIOA is to encourage communication and relations with the franchisor and its franchisees. We see our franchise organization as a collaborative body, not intended to impede the leadership of GNC, but just the opposite, rather to serve as a brand partner, offering an operator perspective in marketing, advertising, product development, purchasing and more.   As a corporate leader, GNC’s management expertise is essential to our success and we rely upon its skill sets to lead our brand. We simply want to ensure our personal financial investments in the brand are considered as part of the brand strategy.