Basel: Decathlon takes over Athleticum store
The branch of sports retailer Athleticum at Dreispitz in Basel will close at the end of July. The expansive French competitor Decathlon is taking over the location.
Athleticum, a subsidiary of Maus Frères Holding from Geneva, is closing its branch at Dreispitz in Basel on 28 July, reports the Basel newspaper. According to the newspaper report, Decathlon will move to the site.
Decathlon has been present in Switzerland since April 2017, at that time, the company opened its first branch in the canton of Neuchâtel in the Migros shopping centre Marin Centre in Marin-Epagnier, a municipality on the northern shore of Lake Neuchâtel.
In January of this year, several media had reported that Decathlon was entering into a cooperation with the sports retailer Athleticum and, as a first step, intended to open a sales outlet in an Athleticum store in Geneva. Within the framework of an overall agreement, the entire Athleticum chain would gradually be managed under the Decathlon brand. Maus Frères had apparently been looking for a buyer for Athleticum for some time.
In February of this year, Decathlon then announced Plans for a new superstore in the Lake Geneva region announced: In the second half of 2019, the French company plans to open a new 3,000 sqm store in Villeneuve, Vaud, in a building formerly rented by Top Tip (Coop Group). To this end, the company has signed a ten-year lease with Procimmo SA.
The opening in Basel would thus be the first step into German-speaking Switzerland for the French manufacturer and retailer of sports equipment and clothing.
