Decathlon closes American stores

French sports equipment chain Decathlon is closing its remaining stores in the United States before the end of March. The decision does not really come as a surprise: there were only two stores left.

E-commerce and partnerships

Both stores are located in California, in San Francisco and Emeryville to be precise. The San Francisco Chronicle says the stores will close in a month’s time. The chain will instead focus on e-commerce and partnerships with other retailers, such as Walmart and Target.

“We are changing our business model to adapt to current market conditions and to better meet the needs of our customers”, Decathlon USA CEO Christian Ollier told the SF Chronicle. He deems the changes necessary in order to enable future growth. “While we will be closing physical stores at this time, our products are available online at Decathlon.com and at a growing number of retail partners”, the CEO concludes.

Decathlon was founded in 1976 and was the world’s most widespread sports equipment retailer with more than 1700 locations all around the world by 2020. The company opened its first American store in 2017 and had high hopes for its US expansion, but they never materialised. As a result of the two stores closing, 32 people are to lose their jobs.