Decathlon takes 35,000 square foot store at Trinity Leeds
Sporting goods retailer Decathlon is to open a new store at the Trinity Leeds shopping destination.
The company has taken the former BHS store on Boar Lane for a 35,000 square foot experiential flagship spread over two floors. Designed by an in-house team, the shop will include large showrooms featuring Decathlon’s full array of sportswear and equipment.
Due to open later this month for click and collect and essential items only, the shop will have its full launch in April when retail lockdown restrictions end. Services will include a new Covid-secure initiative ‘Click & Drive’ where customers’ products are brought out to their cars, and a workshop service for the repair of bikes, kayaks and tents.
After launching in the UK over 20 years ago, Decathlon now has a total of 44 stores here.
Decathlon Leeds store manager David Baker, who is returning to his home city to head up the new store, said: “I am very excited that we can help make sport more accessible to people in the city. We’ve already built strong relationships with a number of partners, including Leeds Dock Running and Cycling Club, and Active Leeds. We can’t wait to connect with all the sports enthusiasts in and around Leeds.
“It’s also no coincidence that Leeds is twinned with Decathlon’s home city, Lille – it has long been a target location of ours. We have spent a lot of time during the pandemic making sure our offer at Trinity is perfectly tailored to the local customer needs, and we’re in no doubt that this young and vibrant city will embrace Decathlon Leeds as the go-to store for all sports-related products and services.”
Decathlon will be following in the footsteps of H&M, which upsized its existing store Trinity Leeds store last year to create a 39,000 square foot flagship.
James Hutchinson, portfolio manager at Landsec, said: “We’ve already seen an incredible response on our social media channels to this exciting new anchor store. Our shoppers are counting down the days until the Decathlon launch, tangible evidence of Landsec’s work at Trinity, bringing the heart of Leeds back to life.”
