The store in Westgate Mall was Hy-Vee’s second in Madison and was expanded to include a third location in Fitchburg in 2014. The Iowa grocer has announced a partnership with Cottage Grove’s Johnson Fitness & Wellness that will begin next week with the opening of fitness equipment showrooms in select stores.
STATE JOURNAL ARCHIVES
BARRY ADAMS
The homemade donuts, freshly fried chicken and courses with frozen pizza in some Hy-Vee grocery stores have an unusual counterpart.
The Iowa grocer has announced that it is adding space in some of its stores in an eight-state region to sell treadmills, ellipticals, rowing machines, and other exercise equipment from Johnson Fitness & Wellness, based in Cottage Grove.
The first location opens on Tuesday at the new Grimes Hy-Vee in Grimes, Iowa, with additional locations expected to open later this year. Whether and when the Hy-Vee stores in Madison and Fitchburg will get showrooms has not yet been determined, said Christina Gayman, Vice President of Communications at Hy-Vee.
Johnson Fitness & Wellness is the largest fitness retailer in the United States and offers a wide range of brands including Matrix Fitness, Vision Fitness, Horizon Fitness and Synca Wellness. Each showroom in Hy-Vee’s store features different types of fitness equipment that customers can see and try for themselves.
The showrooms will include kiosks where customers can use QR codes to order online from Johnson Fitness & Wellness, which includes free home delivery. Delivery and assembly at home are possible for an additional charge.
“We are excited to partner with Hy-Vee, who shares our mission to improve our customers’ lives through healthy choices,” said Bob Zande, president of Johnson Fitness & Wellness. “This unique opportunity enables customers to gain hands-on experience with high-quality, high-quality fitness solutions where they shop every week, and the online kiosk enables them to have the equipment simply delivered to their home.”
