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
Rockville is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, and is part of the Washington metropolitan area. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census tabulated Rockville's population at 67,117, making it the fourth ...
after he suffered a back injury and found there was an open niche for a specialty back retailer.
Healthy Back has 19 locations in 7 states and a corporate office in Beltsville, Maryland. They are currently the largest independently owned back care retailer. A 2008 report quoted the founder as stating that e-commerce made up 40% of their sales.
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.
Acquisitions
In the late 1990s, the Healthy Back Store acquired three Natural Back Stores in California, bringing the chain to 8 locations. Healthy Back bought out the Maryland-based
JoAnne's Bed and Back
Joanne's Bed and Back was a retailer of specialty beds, mattresses, and chairs in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The chain, which is based in Beltsville, Maryland, primarily has stores in the U.S. states of Maryland and Virginia ...
chain of stores for $600,000 in 2008 following the latter's filing for
Chapter 11
Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...
bankruptcy earlier that year.
At the time of the merger, Healthy Back's sales were $40 million per year, and Joanne's $10 million.
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.
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.
References
External links
*{{official website, http://www.healthyback.com
Ergonomics companies
American companies established in 1994
Retail companies established in 1994
Companies based in Rockville, Maryland
1994 establishments in Maryland