Decathlon has converted its Herblay store, around 25km from Paris, into a sport discovery space after a 2,000-sqm. May expansion. The site — France’s first to trial the concept — features a child mobility track, a football simulator with a giant screen, and an equestrian area.
Decathlon has transformed its store in Herblay, around 25km from Paris, into an immersive playground for children and their parents. The site, which underwent a 2,000-sqm. expansion in May, is the first in France to test the new concept. Children are invited to discover the world of sport by directly exploring a variety of sporting activities on site in an immersive and interactive way.
Families are guided by a colorful graphic arrangement through multiple experiential areas. Young athletes can try roller skates, skateboards, and bicycles under real-world situations on a child mobility track. A football simulator and its giant screen allow children and adults to test their accuracy by shooting into a real balloon in front of a virtual cage. The world of equestrian riding can be explored with the aid of a “pony box.”
The retail space has been “transformed into a place for initiation and discovery, suitable for the whole family,” where sport can be immediately experienced well beyond the usual shopping experience, said store manager Clément Oriat.
The Decathlon store in Herblay is open seven days a week. Decathlon has 1,817 stores worldwide and a global workforce of 101,100 people.
