Decathlon is gearing up to open its first flagship store in the Republic of Ireland on Saturday, June 13, after testing the waters on the internet with a website since the end of 2017. Some 60,000 Irish customers are already connected online to its website. Reportedly, the Dublin store should be the first of nine stores in the country, three of which would be located in the Dublin area, but the company’s Irish country manager, Bastien Grandgeorge, says it will depend on the success of the first store, focusing on the areas of Dublin, Cork and Galway.
The new store, originally planned for March 2020, is located near an Ikea store in the Ballymun (or Baile Munna) district north of Dublin. Covering 4,000 square meters, it is described as a unique “phygital” store that will offer an omni-channel experience, with personalized follow-up. It will place at customers’ disposal its smartphone app, which is already used by 1.6 million people around the world.
Solar panels on the roof of the store will cover 20 percent of its total energy consumption.
While noting that 43 percent of the five million inhabitants of the country practice sports regularly, and that nearly 30 percent Dublin’s residents come from abroad, Decathlon says it is also addressing the balance of the Irish population that is still inactive. It will do so through a free-access experience zone measuring 1,500 m² to test its wide range of affordable private-label products, which are typically 20 percent cheaper than branded items. That includes products for 70 sports, including such local favorites as field hockey, golf, darts, rugby and fishing.
Decathlon says it has hired a team of passionate sportswomen and sportsmen to treat customers like their own friends. It is planning to have a staff of 90 people in the country by the end of the spring season.
