Wala has opened a seventh store, according to both TradeSport and CMDsport. It is a 2,200-sqm operation with a staff of 40 located in Sant Pere de Ribes, Catalonia. The retail chain does all of its business in this one Spanish autonomous community and covers mountain and snow sports, cycling, running, football, basketball and sportswear.
The new store adopts a few omnichannel practices, such as click-and-collect and the setting aside of articles from other stores. Like its predecessor, in Sabadell, it has been designed for sustainability. With the departure of Decathlon, it is the only sports store in the commercial zone known as Rambla del Garraf - Parc d’Oci.
According to CMD’s sources within the company, Wala is projecting sales in excess of €50 million for FY 2023/24. For its most recent year, ended Feb. 28, the company posted revenues of €48.5 million – one-tenth of this attributable to e-commerce. Customers are “more active” than they were at the same periods last year, making management “moderately optimistic.”
Wala is also planning no further store openings for the year. “The plan,” said one source, “is to keep hiring because we’re open to new opportunities, especially in Catalonia, where we still have a long way to go.”
Also, according to CMD, Wala has recently finished revamping its e-commerce site, which is now “more agile, more intuitive, and makes proposals that are more in line with each customer’s needs.”
