[In the picture] Decathlon reopens first Belgian store “Ikea style”

Decathlon has reopened its store in Evere (Brussels) with a new look. The chain’s largest Belgian store is also the first in the country to use its latest shop concept, as previously seen in Paris and London. It is all part of the sports retailer’s major rebranding.

First of 33

The 9,300 sqm shop now features a new layout and house style to “better guide customers” among the 45,000 products on display. In the next two years, all 33 Belgian stores will get the same overhaul, as will eventually all 1,700 Decathlon stores worldwide.

The new layout should not only feel “more adventurous”, but also “Ikea style”, the press release says. Visitors will follow a route that leads them past all the various sports displays – or, as the chain puts it, “a circular shopping route, where visitors will see items from the same sport on the left and right in each aisle in each department”.

Showcases and displays

The intention is clear: instead an outdated ‘big box’, Decathlon wants to become a ‘discovery store’. “You are immersed in every sport, so to speak. That should make it easier to intuitively navigate our wide range”, Gregory Crucifix explains. Showcases demonstrate how products can be used and combined, while customers can compare products on large displays. They can place products on the columns, after which they can see all the specifications on the screen above them.

Online and offline should also complement each other better: in addition to the physical shops, the website will get a new look from next week. Digital screens will bring the online range to the shops, while the in-store range has been optimised. Decathlon recently opted for a simplified brand portfolio of nine house brands, in addition to four so-called expert brands. An example of the latter is cycling brand Van Rysel, which was given its own shop-in-shop in London.