MadVapes opened an e-cigarette store near Innsbrook. Photos by Michael Thompson.
A fast-growing North Carolina company is adding some heat to the local e-cigarette market.
MadVapes opened its first store in the Richmond area last month at 10252 W. Broad St., near Innsbrook.
Matt Durand and Gardner Payne, who licensed the MadVapes brand for the new Richmond location and elsewhere around Virginia, leased the 1,500-square-foot space that was formerly home to a Scottrade office.
MadVapes sells electronic cigarette equipment and about 250 different flavors of the liquid used in the devices, also called juice. The company manufactures its own juice in North Carolina and sells other brands, Durand said.
In addition to another Virginia store in Danville – also run by Durand and Payne – the company has 70 locations in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Texas, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. It also sells its products in Food Lions in Virginia and gas stations in North Carolina and South Carolina, as well as online.
MadVapes makes and sells its own e-cigarette liquid, or juice.
Some of the brand’s growth was fueled by a merger in August with Electra Vapor, also based in North Carolina, which had more than 30 locations of its own at the time.
Before getting into electronic cigarettes, Durand owned a landscaping company and a day care. Gardner is a former lobbyist.
Durand said he reached out to Electra Vapor before it merged with MadVapes about getting into the electronic cigarette industry.
“Several years ago I had the idea of getting into the business,” Durand said. “I had just seen it was really a growing business with high demand.”
Durand said the MadVapes owners asked him if he wanted to lead the MadVapes push in Virginia, where he would like to open 10 stores in two years.
He said it costs between $75,000 and $100,000 to open a MadVapes location. Durand and Payne are self-financing their efforts and they plan to open another Richmond location in the next six months. Durand said they haven’t finalized that location, but the VCU area is attractive.
“We’re going to open multiple stores in Richmond,” Durand said. “It’s kind of a wait-and-see approach.”
Whatever approach MadVapes takes, it will be hard to avoid crossing paths with Avail Vapor, a Chesterfield-based electronic cigarette company that is one of the local frontrunners in the industry.
James Xu
Like MadVapes, Avail has its own retail stores and also manufactures its own juices. Avail launched in 2013 with a location in Carytown and now has eight shops around the Richmond market.
Durand said the e-cig market is so young, there is room for two regional brands to grow.
“I’ve been inside a couple of Avail stores – from what I understand they do a good business,” Durand said. “We can offer a similar, if not better overall product.”
Avail CEO James Xu had similar feelings about MadVapes.
“They are one of the most successful companies (in the e-cig industry),” Xu said. “We view that as very positive for the whole industry.”
Xu said by the end of October, Avail will have 59 stores open across the mid-Atlantic. Avail is in the process of relocating its original location in Carytown from 3224 W. Cary St. to 3039 W. Cary St., the former Modern Artifacts storefront.
Xu said the new Carytown location will open in the next 30 days.
“It has better visibility,” Xu said. “It’s a corner space closer to the action. That’s where we want to be.”
MadVapes opened an e-cigarette store near Innsbrook. Photos by Michael Thompson.
A fast-growing North Carolina company is adding some heat to the local e-cigarette market.
MadVapes opened its first store in the Richmond area last month at 10252 W. Broad St., near Innsbrook.
Matt Durand and Gardner Payne, who licensed the MadVapes brand for the new Richmond location and elsewhere around Virginia, leased the 1,500-square-foot space that was formerly home to a Scottrade office.
MadVapes sells electronic cigarette equipment and about 250 different flavors of the liquid used in the devices, also called juice. The company manufactures its own juice in North Carolina and sells other brands, Durand said.
In addition to another Virginia store in Danville – also run by Durand and Payne – the company has 70 locations in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Texas, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. It also sells its products in Food Lions in Virginia and gas stations in North Carolina and South Carolina, as well as online.
MadVapes makes and sells its own e-cigarette liquid, or juice.
Some of the brand’s growth was fueled by a merger in August with Electra Vapor, also based in North Carolina, which had more than 30 locations of its own at the time.
Before getting into electronic cigarettes, Durand owned a landscaping company and a day care. Gardner is a former lobbyist.
Durand said he reached out to Electra Vapor before it merged with MadVapes about getting into the electronic cigarette industry.
“Several years ago I had the idea of getting into the business,” Durand said. “I had just seen it was really a growing business with high demand.”
Durand said the MadVapes owners asked him if he wanted to lead the MadVapes push in Virginia, where he would like to open 10 stores in two years.
He said it costs between $75,000 and $100,000 to open a MadVapes location. Durand and Payne are self-financing their efforts and they plan to open another Richmond location in the next six months. Durand said they haven’t finalized that location, but the VCU area is attractive.
“We’re going to open multiple stores in Richmond,” Durand said. “It’s kind of a wait-and-see approach.”
Whatever approach MadVapes takes, it will be hard to avoid crossing paths with Avail Vapor, a Chesterfield-based electronic cigarette company that is one of the local frontrunners in the industry.
James Xu
Like MadVapes, Avail has its own retail stores and also manufactures its own juices. Avail launched in 2013 with a location in Carytown and now has eight shops around the Richmond market.
Durand said the e-cig market is so young, there is room for two regional brands to grow.
“I’ve been inside a couple of Avail stores – from what I understand they do a good business,” Durand said. “We can offer a similar, if not better overall product.”
Avail CEO James Xu had similar feelings about MadVapes.
“They are one of the most successful companies (in the e-cig industry),” Xu said. “We view that as very positive for the whole industry.”
Xu said by the end of October, Avail will have 59 stores open across the mid-Atlantic. Avail is in the process of relocating its original location in Carytown from 3224 W. Cary St. to 3039 W. Cary St., the former Modern Artifacts storefront.
Xu said the new Carytown location will open in the next 30 days.
“It has better visibility,” Xu said. “It’s a corner space closer to the action. That’s where we want to be.”