The Vitamin Shoppe is opening locations to sell its products within nine LA Fitness health clubs. Since November, the retailer has opened 300-square-foot shops within LA Fitness chains in Union, N.J.; Huntington Station, N.Y.; Farmingville, N.Y.; Boca Raton, Fla.; Tampa, Fla.; Lakewood Ranch, Fla.; Dunedin, Fla.; Palm Harbor, Fla.; and Lake Mary, Fla.
The retailer hasn’t disclosed whether it plans to expand into more LA Fitness locations.
On the surface, the move aims to reel in more potential customers focused on shared interests — health and wellness. The in-gym shops serve sports nutrition products and on-the-go healthy snacks and beverages, as well as a selection of vitamins, minerals and supplement products. The curated merchandise assortment of more than 900 SKUs is comprised of approximately 90 health and wellness brands, including The Vitamin Shoppe’s proprietary brands: BodyTech, BodyTech Elite, True Athlete, plnt and ProBioCare.
The retailer also is tying in loyalty strategies within the LA Fitness partnership. New customers who initially sign up for The Vitamin Shoppe’s Healthy Awards loyalty program in an LA Fitness location will receive a 10% discount on their purchase.
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“These shops provide the health-conscious members of LA Fitness easy access to their favorite sports nutrition and supplement products, as well as the exceptional expertise and guidance of our Health Enthusiasts,” said Sharon Leite, CEO of The Vitamin Shoppe in a statement.
The health and supplements retailer has gone out of its way to reestablish the direction of its physical stores and “demystify” the wellness space, opening six “innovation stores” that incorporate on-demand digital product guides, enhanced mobile POS checkout and the new Only Me personalized health assessment and subscription service. The stores combine retail and education through technology such as a complimentary body composition analysis station and an in-store product sampling kiosk from Vengo.
The Vitamin Shoppe/LA Fitness collaboration comes a year after another retailer, Kohl’s, partnered with Planet Fitness to attract more customers into its own stores and boost its real estate value. The department store leased space to the gym to open workout centers adjacent to 10 select Kohl’s locations. Additionally, Kohl’s unveiled a pilot program with WW (previously known as Weight Watchers) for an in-store WW Studio in Chicago.
