Decathlon, a major manufacturer and seller of sporting goods, will open stores in stores in its Russian outlets for the Russian retailer Kant, said representatives of the companies. The first “Kant” in “Decathlon”, according to them, will open at the end of November in the “Zelenopark” shopping center, in 2018 two more will be opened and, if the experiment is successful, the partnership will continue.
Now Decathlon has 50 stores in Russia, Kant has 18. Kant is also a large distributor of sports goods in Russia, founded in 1989 by Grigory Arievich and Daniil Vinogradov. In addition to retail and wholesale, Kant has a ski complex of the same name in Moscow near the Nagornaya metro station.
Decathlon specializes in affordable products, says Daniel Arfaoui, Development Director of Decathlon Russia. “Our niche is a product for beginners and advanced athletes, our own brands. But customers often say that they also want products for more advanced users, ”he explained. Therefore, Decathlon decided to create a platform for selling goods for everyone – from novice athletes to experts, says Arfaoui: “We know how to work in our niche – quality goods at affordable prices, it was decided to attract a partner to work with a different audience.”
This is the first experience of opening a “store in a store”; in other countries, Decathlon does not have such formats of cooperation with other players, adds Arfaoui, noting that the company is not going to cooperate with other specialized retailers yet.
“Sportmaster”, according to the representative of the main competitor of “Decathlon” in Russia, does not work and does not plan to work in this format: “Our stores are focused on the mass consumer, here you can find a bicycle, a snowboard, and a mosquito repellent. Why would we invite anyone else? We ourselves are trying to provide the consumer with everything necessary in tourism and sports. “
For Kant, this is also the first such experience, says managing partner of the chain Anton Vinogradov, noting that many specialized sports stores often open near the Decathlons: “Partnership with a strong leader is a unique opportunity to open a store in good places with high traffic”.
The main reason for cooperation, he said, is development plans: Kant wants to “be a leader in the sales of professional equipment” and a partnership with Decathlon can help in this.
The entire basic assortment will be presented in the Kant stores in Decathlon, as in a full-fledged store – from snowboards to bicycles, Vinogradov notes. But, according to him, unlike ordinary stores, such a store will have more goods of the middle and higher price segments: “Most likely, the average check in a store in Zelenopark will be, like in a regular Kant store, about 6000-8000 rub.”.
The trading area of the Kant opening in Zelenograd Decathlon is 600 sq. M. m, says Vinogradov. The entire retail space of Decathlon is 4,000 sq. m, said Arfaoui. This is not an optimization of the retail space, the layout of goods in the hall and the work of the staff will change, he stressed.
For companies, this can be a mutually beneficial cooperation – it will provide an expansion of the assortment and additional traffic, says Anna Nikandrova, partner of Colliers International.
In general, mono-brands of well-known manufacturers are still not very active in the development of the network in the Russian market, but multi-brand companies have become more active, says Nikandrova. For example, according to her, Sportmaster, which suspended development several years ago, is now reopening stores and looking at new sites. Decathlon is also very active, looking at areas for shops of different formats, she lists. Consumer demand is returning, people feel that the crisis is over, and there is interest in sports and tourism, the consumer again went to shopping centers, adds a representative of Sportmaster. Decathlon, according to Arfaoui, in 2017 will increase its network in Russia by at least 12 stores.
Kant plans to develop its own chain of separate stores, says Vinogradov. “In recent years, the company has opened points at the Sochi ski resorts (Rosa Khutor, Gorki Gorod), it is planned to continue opening stores there, as well as in the Sheregesh region. We want to cover all Russian ski resorts. Another task is the development of online sales, now they account for about 7% of the turnover, the goal is 15%, ”he adds.
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