The sports specialist will open its first Decathlon Mountain store in Switzerland on December 1, also opening a ski area in Switzerland for the first time, diversifying its development in the market.
The new 350sq m store will sit in the centre of the village of Zermatt and will offer Decathlon’s entire product range. With further plans already in place to roll out the concept should it be successful, this location in Zermatt will act as a pilot for the company to develop a franchise concept that is perfectly suited to mountain towns and villages. Decathlon intends to open around 15 of these Mountain stores in family destinations and internationally known holiday resorts.
Further plans are already in place to meet the demands and needs of customers within the mountains. For example, Decathlon is planning an omni-channel strategy that will see customers able to utilise a Click and Collect service where they can order from the entire range online and pick up in store at the earliest available opportunity.
“So far, the mountains have been a blank spot for us,” says Adrien Lagache, Expansion Manager at Decathlon Switzerland. “Whether digital or physical, there are still many customers in the mountain region that we want to satisfy. For us, it is important to be closer to the places where Swiss athletes train so that we can get to know our sports customers even better.”
