Decathlon, The ‘Ikea Of Sports,’ Opens In Dartmouth
HALIFAX—The largest sporting goods retailer in the world will open its first Atlantic Canadian store in Dartmouth this weekend.
French sporting goods giant Decathlon will open a pop-up store at Mic Mac Mall July 25.
According to Emily Manuel, Decathlon’s marketing lead in Atlantic Canada, the pop-up is a pared-down version of the 23,000-square-foot megastore Decathlon plans to open at Mic Mac later this year.
She says it will act a little like a soft opening, introducing Atlantic Canadians to Decathlon and helping people get a feel for its products.
Although not as well-known in Canada, Decathlon is a staple for many sports shoppers in Europe.
The company was founded by sports fans in the 1970s and designs, produces, and distributes its own products for more than 60 different sports and activities.
Manuel says anyone familiar with furniture giant Ikea will notice lots of similarities walking into a Decathlon store.
“It’s more of a European style of business. It’s kind of like an Ikea, but more for sports,” Manuel explains.
She said the main Dartmouth store will stock a wide selection of Decathlon-brand sporting goods. It will also feature a space for fitness classes, places to test out equipment, a “pretty extensive” bike shop, and a café.
That store will be the latest piece of Decathlon’s major expansion plans in Canada. The retailer opened its first Canadian location in the Montreal area in 2018 and now has six locations across Quebec and Ontario.
Along with Atlantic Canada, the company also has its sights set on the Ottawa, Calgary, and Vancouver markets.
The pared-down, pop-up version of the Dartmouth store opens this weekend, starting July 25 at 11 a.m. Manuel says it will remain until the main shop opens its doors in November or December.