DECATHLON RAISES THE SHOPPING BAR
Sporting goods store elevates the buying experience at first location in the west
As retail shopping continues to adapt to the increase in online purchasing and pandemic restrictions, Southcentre Mall has welcomed 180,000 square feet of new stores over the past 18 months.
Much of that figure is due to the opening last weekend of sporting goods store Decathlon in 63,000 square feet of the second floor vacated by Sears.
“The addition of Decathlon to the Southcentre portfolio is a significant milestone indicative of the economic growth currently taking place in our city,” says Jason Bos, general manager of the mall, which he said is now at more than 90 per cent occupancy.
He is also proud that Decathlon chose Southcentre as the location for its first store in Western Canada, the 10th in the country.
The company was founded in France in 1976, and in the past 45 years has grown to more than 1,700 stores in more than 60 countries around the world.
Craig Binch, the store leader at Decathlon, says Calgary was chosen for its location offering major transport connectivity, the fact that we have an active population and the availability of space in such a prime centre of good retail traffic.
About 7,000 sq. ft of the huge sporting goods store is dedicated to an automated warehouse where 27 robots are kept busy finding and delivering items to customers.
Binch says the store is focused on customer experience and the robots allow the store to house one-third less inventory on the selling floor versus the traditional
layout, meaning more products can be displayed in a roomy, uncluttered atmosphere.
Retail shopping has certainly undergone a huge shift with the availability of ordering merchandise online, but Binch wants people to come into his store and converse with knowledgeable staff on items, as well as how and where to best use them.
Thanks to the robots, less time is spent on inventory management and stock-related tasks, allowing more time for customer-facing and other value-added roles. Once an item has been requested, customers can add it to a basket on their phones — or a store supplied phone — and once shopping is complete, a team of robots is alerted by radio signal and deliver the items to a pickup counter within three minutes.
Customers place them in a bin and then proceed to a self checkout where codes are transmitted by radio frequency, allowing a
speedy exit while also updating the store's inventory.
Other warehouses use robots to select and deliver goods for online purchases but Binch says this is the first time Decathlon has used the feature for in-store delivery.
Of course, the technology-assisted system will be a big advantage to Decathlon's e-commerce customers as well, which means the Calgary store will also be used for packaging and shipping goods throughout Western Canada.
Another unique feature of the Southcentre store is a space of around 4,000 sq. ft featuring a gymnasium and studio available for local coaches to hold classes. To try out shoes, there's a treadmill on hand; to check out the comfort of ski boots, snap them into a pair of skis in the store's experiential test zones.
Add a lounge for waiting partners with coffee and laptop plug-ins, and Decathlon becomes an enjoyable experience totally foreign to online shopping.
Binch, who has a background in guiding and water sports, as well as sporting goods retail management, has opened Decathlon with a staff of 41, all chosen with personality, local knowledge and enthusiasm for sports.
NOTES:
Founded in Calgary in 1963, Operation Eyesight has again been recognized as one of the Top 10 Impact Charities. Of the more than 800 Canadian organizations rated by Charity Intelligence, it was ranked for the fourth year as a top Canadian charity and the second in the international category as a top performer in 2021 for measurable effect, highlighting the value the organization creates for every dollar it receives through donations.
Nightrise, an immersive experience using vibrant lighting, multimedia, video projections and original soundscapes on the top of Pursuit's Banff Gondola, opens to the public Dec. 2 and runs until March 12. Created by Moment Factory with the participation of the Stoney Nakoda Nation, it promises to bring the nighttime silence and wonder of the Canadian Rockies to life in unforgettable ways.