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DECATHLON: MAKING MOVES IN THE UK
Decathlon is Europe’s largest sports retailer but to date its presence in the UK has been relatively modest. As its new store opens at intu Uxbridge, that all seems set to change.
I
f you asked someone in the UK to name Europe’s largest sports retailer they might need a few guesses before correctly saying Decathlon. That’s because the French brand has proportionately not been as visible in the UK as it is in many of the other 31 countries where it has a presence.
Decathlon was a price-point disrupter long before Primark or the other current crop of discount retailers established themselves in the UK. Many people remember how Decathlon made skiing a much more affordable prospect through the pricing of the skis and other kit for the slopes.
It started life in 1976 when founder Michel Leclercq opened a store in Lille, France. Expansion abroad came a decade later: first into Germany then Spain and Italy before arriving in the UK in 1999. The first UK store was at Surrey Quays in London and the Decathlon chain has steadily grown to its current 38 outlets. The latest addition is at the intu Uxbridge shopping centre where a new store has been carved out of 18,000 sq ft of former BHS space.
Decathlon Ricardo Rodriguez – who oversees expansion of the retailer’s UK store and distribution networks – comments: “We’re a fully integrated sports retail business. Our purpose is to bring sports to the many by being innovative and listening to our customers who are sports product users. Our approach to product development is simple – ‘Innovate smart’ – and it makes easier for people who use our products.
“We observe and analyse sports people in action in our dedicated development centres and labs so that we can deliver more practical, comfortable, enjoyable and safe products for our customers worldwide.”
One of Decathlon’s own brands, Quechua, revolutionised mountain sports – and probably also rock festivals – with its two-second pop-up tent, and Easybreath snorkelling mask has been award-winning.
The company has also been innovating in terms of its property requirements. Rodriguez explains: “Our traditional retail concept has been adapted to meet the needs of UK
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