Decathlon, the largest sporting goods retailer, announced plans to open the company’s first major store in the Bay Area. Located at 3938 Horton Street in the East Bay Bridge shopping center in Emeryville, CA, the 47,000-square-foot store is scheduled to open in spring 2019.
Decathlon also announced the launch of its national e-commerce platform; since August 1, the full range of products are now available nationwide.
Formerly a Toys R Us, the first full-scale Decathlon store in the U.S. will feature ample parking and provide easy accessibility for Bay Area residents. The Emeryville location is situated at the intersection of three major interstates: I-80, I-880 and I-580, an area shared by other major retailers including Ikea, Target, Best Buy and Home Depot.
“Our future store in Emeryville will feature over 100 different sports and allow our customers to find everything they need to ‘get in the game’ in one stop, with plenty of opportunities to discover and try out new sports,” said Decathlon USA’s Chief Executive Officer Michel d’Humières. “Through this fun, interactive retail center, we are working to build a community around Decathlon in the Bay Area similar to what we’ve accomplished abroad.”
The new Emeryville store will be six times the size of Decathlon’s first “lab store,” which officially opened this past April at 735 Market Street in San Francisco. Featuring the full range of products for more than 100 sports, including gear for children and young adults, the Emeryville location will be an experiential retail center, allowing consumers to test products before they buy.
“We strategically chose to open a smaller-scale store in the city before expanding to this larger retail center in order to better understand the needs of local sports enthusiasts and develop our interconnected retail and online experience. Since our launch, we’ve had an enthusiastic response to our store and have developed a thriving relationship with the community, and we’ve decided it’s time to introduce the U.S. to our first full-service Decathlon store environment,” continued d’Humières.
Decathlon innovates, designs and manufactures its own brands for each individual sport. Since its founding in 1976, Decathlon has created over 25 brands and innovative equipment for every sport discipline. With more than 1,400 stores in 42 countries around the world, the company offers sports lovers of all levels affordable, quality gear in over 100 sports, ranging from cycling, running and snowboarding, to fishing, basketball and golf.
Due to its vertical integration, Decathlon is able to sell its own brands at prices far below that of competing retailers, while still driving innovation based on feedback from its millions of in-store and online customers around the world.
“At Decathlon, our goal is to reduce the barrier to entry for sports and make sports more accessible to anyone, anywhere by creating real value at true cost,” said Decathlon USA’s Chief Operations Officer Sophie O’Kelly De Gallagh. “Our current San Francisco store features 50 sports, but this new store will include our entire line of products, over 100 sports, offering every sport and every piece of equipment to our community and helping people of all ages and skill levels to get outside and be active.”
Decathlon also hosts weekly activities ranging from group runs to yoga classes and cycling and tennis workshops, among others.
Until now, Decathlon has only offered shipping to California residents to ensure a smooth transition into the U.S. market and a successful expansion nationwide. Its national e-commerce is now live, allowing for all U.S. residents to have access to Decathlon’s products at a fraction of the cost of most sporting goods.
Photo courtesy Decathlon
