As Nordic retailers race to close the gap between online demand and physical fulfilment, Stadium is putting warehouse automation at the center of its supply chain strategy – with a nine-figure technology bet and a 2027 completion target.
Stadium, one of Scandinavia’s leading sports and sports fashion retailers, has begun construction of a purpose-built logistics facility in Norrköping, Sweden, that will serve as its primary distribution centre for the Swedish and Finnish store network. The warehouse – spanning 40,800 square metres – is scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2027.
Robots at the core of a SEK 300m logistics overhaul
The facility is not simply an expansion of Stadium’s existing footprint in Norrköping: it represents a substantive operational reconfiguration. Stadium will invest approximately SEK 300 million (around €26 million) in a high-technology warehouse automation system supplied by Exotec, the France-based robotics company whose Skypod system is used by major retailers including Decathlon, Gap and Uniqlo. Exotec positions itself as an end-to-end warehouse automation integrator, combining robotics, software and operational expertise into modular, scalable solutions.
The Skypod system – already deployed by sports such as Amer Sports – moves goods directly to warehouse operators via autonomous robots rather than requiring staff to walk or drive through aisles, a design that meaningfully improves throughput and can reduce order processing times relative to manual methods.
For Stadium, the strategic logic is clear: a retailer operating more than 200 stores across Sweden, Finland and Norway – with additional formats under Stadium Outlet, Stadium Rental, Stadium Run and Stadium Ski – requires distribution infrastructure capable of handling multi-format, multi-market demand with precision and speed. The new facility will sit adjacent to the company’s existing Norrköping logistics centre, consolidating the retailer’s distribution capacity at a site it has operated for some time.
Sustainability is built in, not bolted on
The facility is designed to meet the BREEAM Excellent certification standard – one of the most widely recognized benchmarks for sustainable building performance. A rooftop solar installation of 499 kW is expected to generate approximately 430,000 kWh per year, while geothermal energy solutions have been integrated to reduce operating energy costs, as reported by Swedish media.
The building has also been awarded energy class A. For Stadium, embedding renewable energy infrastructure from the ground up is consistent with its stated priority of minimizing the climate footprint of its logistics operations – an area of growing commercial scrutiny for retailers with large physical store networks.
About
Stadium is a Swedish sports and sports fashion retailer headquartered in Norrköping, with more than 200 stores across Sweden, Finland and Norway. Its formats include Stadium, Stadium Outlet, Stadium Rental, Stadium Run and Stadium Ski. The Eklöf family, through Ulf och Bo Eklöf Invest AB, is the ownership group behind the business.
Slättö is a Stockholm-based manager of alternative investment funds active in residential and commercial real estate across the Nordics. Evolv is its logistics and light industrial property platform, responsible for developing and managing warehouse and commercial properties. YLAB Larssons is the construction contractor executing the project under a fixed-price turnkey arrangement.
Exotec is a French warehouse robotics company founded in 2015 near Lille. Its Skypod system – which uses autonomous robots to bring goods directly to picking stations in three dimensions – is deployed across more than 200 sites worldwide by clients including Decathlon, Gap, Carrefour and Uniqlo. The company surpassed $1 billion in sales in 2024, making it one of the fastest-growing companies in the materials handling industry.
