General Nutrition will close 200 stores.

The vitamin and health food retailer said it will close the unprofitable stores, including 19 of its 125 in California, over several years and discontinue two foreign subsidiaries to cut costs. The 1,315-store chain, which posted a loss of $2.8 million in the first nine months of its fiscal year, said it expects a loss in the fourth quarter and a net loss for the year. Results for the nine months included payments of $17.5 million to settle two lawsuits. The two units to be discontinued are a mail-order business in Great Britain and a wholesale operation recently started in Japan.