The Decathlon in Mechelse Bruul closes its doors after three years: “The store did not lose, but the turnover was insufficient” (Mechelen)

The city store of the French sports chain opened in November 2019 in the building where Media Markt was previously located. “A few months later, the Corona pandemic hit. It didn’t work out in our interest to make a nice story out of it,” says Julie Nevegan, a spokeswoman for Decathlon.

After just over three years, the chain decided to close shop on Friday, March 31st. We have come to the point of evaluating whether we want to extend the lease for the coming years. Good figures from passer-by statistics showed Mechelen to be an attractive shopping town, but after a thorough analysis of internal performance, we decided not to renew the lease,” says Kimberly Giffert, Principal at Decathlon Mechelen.

“The decision is made openly.”

Is the reason for the closure lies in the sales figures? “The store did not suffer any loss, but from a business point of view, the turnover was insufficient. This, combined with high rental and staff costs, led to this decision, ”explains Nevegan. Customers have regularly commented that they hoped for a larger selection at the store in the center of Mechelen. “The project in Mechelen, which is a smaller city concept, didn’t work out and that’s a pity,” says Julie Nevejan.

From April, customers can visit the larger Decathlon stores in Lier and Schelle, which are less than twenty kilometers away and where they will find an even wider range. “Of course, Malinois can also order their sports equipment online. We made this decision openly and in consultation with our employees. Our eight employees will soon be able to work at another Decathlon branch or be helped to find a job elsewhere.

“rents are too high”

With the departure of Decathlon, space was freed up again in the shopping center that was previously built specifically for the arrival of the Media Markt. Burger King will open a restaurant in the former United Brands store in mid-March. The shopping center’s other tenants are Queens and Only & Sons clothing stores, fitness store Basic-Fit, and neighborhood supermarket Carrefour Express owned by Ronny Boomputte and Greet De Saeger, who have been strongholds for years.

The businessmen were not yet aware of the departure, but they were not surprised. “This is very unfortunate, but I have a simple explanation for this. The rents are very high compared to the turnover that you can achieve. Over the years, I have seen many of my fellow entrepreneurs leave our shopping center,” says Ronnie Baumbot.

He himself had already asked for his rent to be reduced. But there is simply no response from the owner, just like our request to put solar panels on the roof. Our energy costs are very high,” he says.

Read also. Burger King opens in Mechelse Bruul on March 15th: “we are still looking for motivated employees”