The French sporting goods retailer Decathlon is pushing ahead with its expansion in Germany.
Around 25 new branches are to be built in the coming year. Decathlon announced this on the occasion of the opening of its 100th store in downtown Nuremberg.
New stores will come to Lüdenscheid, Oberhausen, Schwetzingen, Saarbrücken and Trier in 2026. The company initially did not communicate any further locations. Contracts have already been signed for 15 stores. However, construction law procedures are often still ongoing and we have to wait for their conclusion, it was said.
Dozens of new branches by 2027
Decathlon announced a year ago that it planned to open more than 60 more branches in Germany by the end of 2027. The total number should then be at least 150 stores. The expansion will cost the company, which has its German headquarters in Plochingen near Stuttgart, more than 100 million euros. Dozens of shops are also being modernized.
Head of expansion Stefan Kaiser said: “The 100th branch is the starting signal, not the finish line.” 2025 will end with 18 new openings. At the end of the year we expect to have 105 stores. “It is clear to us that there are no plans to end our expansion in Germany after 2027.” The expansion of the branch network will create around 3,000 jobs by 2027.
With this step, the French sporting goods retailer wants to get closer to its customers. So far, the company has mostly had stores that offer a wide range of products in large sales areas. However, these are mostly outside the city centers. Smaller shops are now increasingly being built in shopping centers and pedestrian zones. They can specialize in one sport and adapt it to local needs. According to previous information, this is also possible because many buildings in the city centers are empty. The retailer wants to take advantage of this opportunity.
Decathlon wants to grab market share
The sports retail market in Germany is worth billions – and is highly competitive. The industry continues to benefit from the ongoing trend towards health and sport. The top dog is Intersport with sales of around 3.5 billion euros. This is followed by Sport 2000 with around 2.8 billion euros. The two mergers of independent sports retailers are also opening new stores. This is also possible because there are gaps in the market – among other things due to the loss of fashion stores and department stores with sports ranges.
The chain store Decathlon follows the two dealer associations. The French – who have long had a reputation as the Aldi of sports retailers – recently had around 6,000 employees in this country and generated sales of almost 1.2 billion euros. Through the expansion, the company wants to significantly increase market share and sales. Decathlon did not name any exact goals recently.