Décathlon Opens Megastore In Moscow

(10:00) Décathlon opened Russia's first megastore in Moscow. It has 85,000 square feet of sales floor.

The giant store was opened by on May 5. The cost of the project reached more than ?150 million. It will employ some 150 staff members to sell a wide range of sporting goods, as well as the 13 Décathlon private label brands, including Quechua, Tribord, Inesis, Domyos and Kalenji. The opening of further outlets in Moscow and surrounding area as well as a department store in Russia in 2008 are also planned. The goal of the megastore is to offer high quality products at an appropriate cost/performance ratio. Furthermore, the company also plans to construct a swimming pool, as well as a number of athletic fields for the Décathlon customers.

Géraud Adhemar de Cransac, general director of Décathlon, said: "We believe that most of the sporting goods sold in Russia are much too expensive. We stand for high quality products at fair prices. We will certainly increase the product selection in Russia, instead of creating competition and pressure among the brands, which have already become established on the Russian market."