BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Asda’s store portfolio numbers around 180 in the UK and at least one of those is going to have a Decathlon shop within it.
According to Retail Week, Asda’s Watford superstore will house a 1,290 sq ft Decathlon store which will primarily be a, you guessed it, click and collect location.
If it seems like an odd retail model then it’s worth noting Wiggle has been doing the same with Homebase, first in St Albans and soon in Milton Keynes, offering click and collect and bike servicing.
The Asda/Decathlon team up is a trial which if successful may be rolled out to other Asda locations. Not only will it help Asda with its huge square footage portfolio around the country – something troubling most of the supermarkets as shoppers switch shopping habits away from big out of town stores – but it could also present an opportunity for Decathlon to finally get a solid foothold on the UK.
As we’ve featured in depth before here on BikeBiz.com, Decathlon is a sports powerhouse around the world. Despite that, and the attractiveness of the UK market, Decathlon has less than 20 stores on these shores, although it has previously confirmed to BikeBiz that it plans to expand here and opened a UK distribution centre recently. Could Asda prove to be a lynchpin in Decathlon’s British expansion?
