Decathlon opens first Swiss store
In Marin-Epagnier (NE), the French sporting goods store chain Decathlon opened its first Swiss location on August 15, 2017.
The new sports store is located in the canton of Neuchâtel in the Migros shopping center Marin Centre in Marin-Epagnier, a municipality on the northern shore of Lake Neuchâtel. Located close to the Bernese cantonal border, the French company's first Swiss store is probably aimed not only at customers from French-speaking Switzerland, but also from German-speaking Switzerland.
Christian Ollier, managing director of Decathlon Switzerland, explained at the inauguration that with the market entry, "logistical, commercial and customs specific peculiarities associated with Switzerland's exceptional position in Europe" have now been mastered. Decathlon plans to open more stores in the country, but specific locations are not yet known.
Founded in France in 1976, the sports retail chain currently has a total of more than 1,200 stores in almost 40 countries. Most recently, Croatia, Singapore and Slovenia were added, as well as an online sales platform for Australia and New Zealand. The company's global annual sales amounted to around ten billion euros in 2016.
