Rob AriasDecathlon has set a Grand Opening date for their new Emeryville location that will be its first major brick-and-mortar store in the U.S.. Located at the site of the former Toys “R” Us space on Horton street, they first announced their intent to open at this location just over six months ago.
Founded in 1976, The French-born company now operates over 1400 stores in over 48 countries. In this 43 year span, they’ve created over 25 brands for over 80 different sports.
Decathlon designs, tests, manufactures and sells their own products. This vertical integration helps keep prices low and drives its company-wide mission to ‘make sports more accessible to everyone’.
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“Since the launch of our San Francisco store, we’ve had an enthusiastic response to our store and have developed a thriving relationship with the community,” noted USA CEO Michel d’Humières on their website. “We’ve decided it’s time to introduce the US to our first full-service Decathlon store environment.”
At 47,000 square-foot, the Emeryville store will be six times the size of Decathlon’s first “lab store” on Market Street in San Francisco. The store will feature gear for over 80 different kinds of sports and will see the launch its new line of youth sports products.
Decathlon is coming to Emeryville! Our Grand Opening weekend is April 12-14! RSVP to join us and reserve a free gift! https://t.co/hcPVoyO05f #Sportsforall #DecathlonUSA pic.twitter.com/aHjUnGepIC
— Decathlon USA (@DecathlonUSA) March 14, 2019
The Emeryville store will be a ‘experiential center’, with places to test products prior to purchasing. Their state-of the-art checkout will utilize RFID and cashless systems.
The location is scheduled to officially open to the public with a weekend-long grand opening celebration on April 12. The event will have product demonstrations, games, free prizes, food and those that register early will get a free gift.
I am looking for bicycle supplies and sailing things would be nice.
Decathlon and Emeryville are a perfect match. The East Bay, no, the whole Bay Area, is in desperate need of smart, stylish kit and no one does it better than The Big Blue D. What time on the 12th? I cannot wait.