In France, Decathlon is the top dog in sports retail with 300 stores, and the company is also strengthening its presence in Germany and setting its sights on expansion. And now it's Switzerland's turn to expand the company, which rides around 1,250 stores in almost 30 countries and relies heavily on its own brands.

After opening the first Decathlon store in Marin-Centre in Neuchâtel, the French group is opening a new store at the existing Athleticum site in Meyrin in the canton of Geneva from April 2018 in partnership with Athleticum. This is the first step in a wider collaboration with the Swiss retail group Maus Frères, the owner of Athleticum. As part of an overall agreement, the entire chain of stores will be managed under the Decathlon banner over time, the companies announced in a press release.

Adrien Lagache, responsible for business development and expansion at Decathlon, explains: "The success in Neuchâtel has allowed us to strengthen our existing contacts with Maus Frères. Decathlon and Athleticum are both brands owned by family businesses. They share values for their customers and employees. The decision to enter into a collaboration and take the first step this spring was therefore a natural one. With its 23 offices across the country, Athleticum would significantly accelerate our presence in Switzerland."

"Solution for a large and competitive product range"

Jean-Bernard Rondeau, General Secretary of Maus Frères, adds: "In an environment characterized by ongoing changes and with the rapid breakthrough of the Internet, we wanted to offer our customers a new solution for a larger and highly competitive range. This first step gives us confidence that we have found the right partner for further development. We are very satisfied."

Further change for the bicycle trade

After Migros' entry into the specialist bicycle retail market with its large-scale Bike World stores, a further change is now taking place in the Swiss specialist sports retail structure. The former title sponsor of the national mountain bike racing series (Racer Bike Cup, now Proffix Bike Cup) is stepping down and with it, presumably, the company's own bike brand Racer. Also available in Athleticum stores are bikes from Jamis, Lapierre, Tern and Whistle.

Bikes from Decathlon's own brand B'Twin are expected to roll into the Swiss cycling landscape in the future. These are in the low to medium price segment and range from children's bikes to trekking and city bikes, racing bikes and folding bikes, through to motorized everyday and mountain bikes. Decathlon is also known for its broad and competitively priced clothing range, which also applies to bicycles.

www.decathlon.ch
www.athleticum.ch
www.btwin.com