GROWTH PLANS IN SINGAPORE
Headquartered in Lille, France, Decathlon 1st entered Singapore in 2012 as an online store just before opening its first “experience store” in 2016 in Bedok. It has since opened up five more of these mega stores, which usually carry its full-range of 5, 000 products and allow clients to try them away.
It also offers nine other smaller “click-and-collect” outlets, taking its total number associated with stores to 15 across Singapore.
While the COVID-19 pandemic spurred some to embrace an active lifestyle or try out some other sports, the effect on Decathlon has been combined as the growth in some sports compensated for that drop in other people.
“During the pandemic, home fitness plus cycling boomed, ” said Mr Veyret. “But at the same time, swimming pools and football pitches were closed so our sales in swimming and soccer tumbled very greatly. Singaporeans who like to travel could not achieve this, so hiking, winter sports and so on also experienced. ”
Since travel and most domestic restrictive measures were lifted, the reverse has happened, with sales of hiking gear picking up once again while pandemic top-sellers such as dumbbells and yoga mats are usually falling.
Likewise, as customers go back to shopping in its shops, its online web site has seen the drop in orders versus a year ago.
“So I wouldn’t say that we have gained from the pandemic because while the figures erupted on one side, we suffered on the other side, ” Mr Veyret stated.
But general, Decathlon is “still growing” and running a profitable business in Singapore, said Mister Veyret. And so the company intends to grow the presence here to eventually reach thirty seven stores – an “almost golden number”.
These will be click-and-collect outlets to ensure good protection across Singapore and that customers have a Decathlon store within 10 minutes from where they live, this individual said.
Additionally it is planning to open an additional experience store within the northern part of Singapore. Such mega shops, said Mr Veyret, serve a different purpose.
“In France, for example , we now have lifelong customers since the first time they rode a bike is at our stores. Therefore the emotion and the partnership you have (with) the particular brand is very various. That’s the aim of the knowledge stores. ”
Decathlon is, however , “not in a rush” to open these new stores. “Time is not the issue, ” stated Mr Veyret, worrying that the retailer is more focused on quality like finding “the right location at the correct rent”.