Hy-Vee to open ‘first-of-its-kind’ in-store fitness equipment showrooms
Hy-Vee is getting into fitness with the largest specialty fitness retailer in North America.
The Midwest supermarket chain is partnering with Johnson Fitness & Wellness, which operates 91 stores across 20 states, to open in-store fitness equipment showrooms in select Hy-Vee locations across its eight-state region. The partnership is the first in the U.S. between a grocery retailer and a fitness equipment company.
The first in-store Johnson showroom will open on Tuesday, Sept. 14 inside Hy-Vee’s store in Grimes, Iowa. Several additional locations are scheduled to open by the end of 2021.
Each in-store showroom at Hy-Vee will feature several types of fitness equipment for customers to view and try for themselves, including treadmills, elliptical machines, exercise bikes and more. The showroom will be digitally supported, with a kiosk and QR codes available for customers to use to order from the Johnson Fitness & Wellness online platform. Free curbside home shipping is available for most items, and in-home delivery and installation is available for an additional cost.
“As part of our mission to making customers’ lives easier, healthier and happier, we are deeply invested in the health and wellness journey of our customers,” said Randy Edeker, chairman, CEO and president of Hy-Vee. “Our new partnership with Johnson Fitness & Wellness allows us to diversify and expand upon our current health offerings to provide our customers with all the tools they need to live a healthy lifestyle.”
This is not Hy-Vee’s first in-store partnership. In March, the grocer teamed up with The W Nail Bar to open several in-store nail salons. And in September 2020, Designer Brands Inc., parent of DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse, launched a “shop-in-shop” pilot with Hy-Vee.
Hy-Vee has been a longtime leader in the health and wellness space, providing pharmacy services to patients for more than 50 years. The retailer also employs dietitians who can offer customers nutritional resources, and features in-store HealthMarket departments for customers to shop nutritional and diet-specific products.
Headquartered in Cottage Grove, Wisconsin, Johnson Fitness & Wellness a wide selection of award-winning fitness and wellness products from brands including Matrix Fitness, Vision Fitness, Horizon Fitness, Synca Wellness and more. The retailer offers equipment for all ages and stages of life and is committed to helping individuals find the best equipment that will help them achieve their health goals.
“We’re excited to partner with Hy-Vee, who shares our mission of enhancing the lives of our customers through healthy choices,” said Bob Zande, president of Johnson Fitness & Wellness. “This unique opportunity allows customers to get hands-on experience with high-quality, high-value fitness solutions where they already shop every week, and the online kiosk allows for them to easily have the equipment delivered to their home.”
Hy-Vee is an employee-owned corporation operating more than 280 retail stores across eight Midwestern states with sales of $11 billion annually.