Major investments in new openings and modernisations
Decathlon has recently published its Growth plans for the German market. The French sporting goods retailer plans to invest up to 100 million euros in Germany by 2027.
According to the company's press release, this sum will be invested in both new store openings and the modernisation of existing locations. Decathlon is planning to open 60 new shops. Over the next three years, the number of shops in Germany is set to grow to 150.
„Over the next three years, we are really stepping up the pace and launching a wave of expansion,“ says Arnaud Sauret, CEO Decathlon Germany. According to Sauret, Decathlon wants to become the preferred sports brand in Germany.
New store concepts
According to its press release, Decathlon intends to appeal to customers with different shop formats in the future. The retail company has developed new store concepts for this purpose.
The well-known large sales areas will continue to exist in the future. In addition, the company will also operate smaller sales areas in shopping centres and pedestrian zones in city centres.
Stefan Kaiser, Director Real Estate at Decathlon Germany, explains: „We want to be represented in the top 15 pedestrian zones in Germany so that our customers can integrate Decathlon into their everyday lives. Not everyone knows Decathlon today. Our vision is to realise a Decathlon touchpoint within 20 minutes of everyone in Germany by 2027 in order to get closer to our customers and increase our brand awareness.“
Decathlon will also be expanding its store network to include specialised stores. Under the name Decathlon Connect, customers will be able to find a concentrated range of products specially tailored to selected sports worlds.