No Limits owner Joe Kincaid. (Michael Thompson)
Less than a year after opening its first storefront on West Broad Street near VCU, a local nutrition supplement retailer is turning a profit and adding a location in the suburbs.
No Limits Nutrition Center opened a new store Aug. 2 at 11345 Nuckols Road in the Town Center at Twin Hickory. Co-owner Joe Kincaid said the venture has leased a 1,200-square-foot space that formerly housed a spice shop.
Kincaid, 23, opened the first No Limits outpost in June 2015 at 1311 W. Broad St. The business sells supplements, vitamins, meal replacements, and other health products.
Kincaid said he noticed customers coming from the West End to visit the Broad Street shop, but he knew they were still getting some items online to avoid dealing with parking in the city.
The new location at 11345 Nuckols Road in the Town Center at Twin Hickory. (Michael Thompson)
With the VCU location bringing in enough revenue to pay for itself, Kincaid decided to take on two investors and see if a westward location will attract more repeat customers.
“There are so many gyms around here, it’s easy to market to a specific crowd,” Kincaid said.
Kincaid said it cost about $50,000 to open the second store and it was funded by himself, his high school friend Kyle Patton, and his aunt, who helped Kincaid open the first location. Patton and Kincaid’s aunt have minority stakes in the LLC Kincaid used to open the second No Limits Nutrition in Twin Hickory. Kincaid is still the sole owner of the VCU location.
The 66,000-square-foot Town Center at Twin Hickory was bought in 2013 by New York-based Katz Properties, which paid $16 million for the Food Lion-anchored shopping center. Katz’ acquisition did not include the free-standing 4,920-square-foot building where No Limits Nutrition is a tenant. That parcel is owned by an entity out of Midlothian. The West End No Limits Nutrition sits between a Hair Cuttery and a Subway sandwich shop.
Kincaid said one of the ways he has tried to differentiate No Limits is by only carrying products he can recommend in good faith – something he struggled to do as an employee with GNC, the giant of the supplement retail industry with 26 outlets in the Richmond area.
“We really focus on having the best selection,” Kincaid said. “There’s not a supplement that we wouldn’t recommend.”
Kincaid said he has grown No Limits mostly with social media posts and passing out flyers. Five percent to 10 percent of No Limits’ sales come from phone orders from across the country. Kincaid said he ultimately decided against launching an online store.
“The idea of a website took away from the level of customer service we give over the phone,” Kincaid said, adding phone orders come with free shipping.
Kincaid hopes to add more No Limits locations, but like any good exercise move, form is better than speed.
“I’m not going to rush it if I don’t have to,” he said.
No Limits owner Joe Kincaid. (Michael Thompson)
Less than a year after opening its first storefront on West Broad Street near VCU, a local nutrition supplement retailer is turning a profit and adding a location in the suburbs.
No Limits Nutrition Center opened a new store Aug. 2 at 11345 Nuckols Road in the Town Center at Twin Hickory. Co-owner Joe Kincaid said the venture has leased a 1,200-square-foot space that formerly housed a spice shop.
Kincaid, 23, opened the first No Limits outpost in June 2015 at 1311 W. Broad St. The business sells supplements, vitamins, meal replacements, and other health products.
Kincaid said he noticed customers coming from the West End to visit the Broad Street shop, but he knew they were still getting some items online to avoid dealing with parking in the city.
The new location at 11345 Nuckols Road in the Town Center at Twin Hickory. (Michael Thompson)
With the VCU location bringing in enough revenue to pay for itself, Kincaid decided to take on two investors and see if a westward location will attract more repeat customers.
“There are so many gyms around here, it’s easy to market to a specific crowd,” Kincaid said.
Kincaid said it cost about $50,000 to open the second store and it was funded by himself, his high school friend Kyle Patton, and his aunt, who helped Kincaid open the first location. Patton and Kincaid’s aunt have minority stakes in the LLC Kincaid used to open the second No Limits Nutrition in Twin Hickory. Kincaid is still the sole owner of the VCU location.
The 66,000-square-foot Town Center at Twin Hickory was bought in 2013 by New York-based Katz Properties, which paid $16 million for the Food Lion-anchored shopping center. Katz’ acquisition did not include the free-standing 4,920-square-foot building where No Limits Nutrition is a tenant. That parcel is owned by an entity out of Midlothian. The West End No Limits Nutrition sits between a Hair Cuttery and a Subway sandwich shop.
Kincaid said one of the ways he has tried to differentiate No Limits is by only carrying products he can recommend in good faith – something he struggled to do as an employee with GNC, the giant of the supplement retail industry with 26 outlets in the Richmond area.
“We really focus on having the best selection,” Kincaid said. “There’s not a supplement that we wouldn’t recommend.”
Kincaid said he has grown No Limits mostly with social media posts and passing out flyers. Five percent to 10 percent of No Limits’ sales come from phone orders from across the country. Kincaid said he ultimately decided against launching an online store.
“The idea of a website took away from the level of customer service we give over the phone,” Kincaid said, adding phone orders come with free shipping.
Kincaid hopes to add more No Limits locations, but like any good exercise move, form is better than speed.
“I’m not going to rush it if I don’t have to,” he said.