Decathlon Becomes TheNew Owners Of Athleticum

The popular SWs sports store chain – Athleticum now has new owners.  The store, formerly owned by MausFreres, has been acquired by Decathlon for an undisclosed fee.  The deal saw Decathlon’s Switzerland store count in Switzerland rise to 23 locations, in addition to their two stores and a webshop.

Only Ochsner Sport and MigrosSportXX rank above Athleticum in the Swiss sports chain rankings.  However, according to MausFreres, the turnover of Athleticum is only half as big as those of the two leading competitors.

A Segment of Decathlon’s Growth Strategy

Plans are in place to progressively convert the present Athleticum locations into Decathlon stores by the fall of 2019.  At the end of the transformation, Athleticum – as a brand name – is expected to be off the market.  According to ChristialdOllier, MD – Decathlon Switzerland, the acquisition is slated to go on for two years, and it features a Decathlon test shop situated inside the Athleticum store, close to Geneve.  In his words, “we expect to repeat the success of the pilot on the other locations.”  He also reiterated their commitment to open another 30 stores in Switzerland, in addition to the newly-acquired 22 stores from Athleticum, while increasing the number of employees by two folds over the coming years.