Decathlon gains foothold in Switzerland

While it is about to enter North America, the French sport retailer owned by the Mulliez family has made a detour into Switzerland this summer. On 15th August, Decathlon has in fact opened its first store in the country in the town of Neuchâtel, nestled between lake and mountains.

The 2,700 m2 store is located within the Migros shopping mall at Marin Centre. The new store will cover 65 sports with more than 36,000 items, the majority of them belonging to Decathlon's range of own labels.

The sport retailer was founded in 1976, and in 2016 it topped the €10 billion revenue mark. It has entered Switzerland, a neighbour of its domestic market, "after succeeding in smoothing out a series of customs, logistics and commercial issues linked to the unique position Switzerland has within Europe," wrote the Director of Decathlon Switzerland, Christian Ollier, on the group's Swiss website. According to the Tribune de Genève newspaper, the group is envisaging an expansion strategy featuring further openings.

Decathlon, which also launched its Swiss e-shop, is currently present in 38 countries with 1,221 stores. In 2017, the French retailer moved into Colombia, while last year it established its first stores in the Ivory Coast, Slovenia, Singapore and Malaysia.

Decathlon gains foothold in Switzerland

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