Investing in Ecommerce can give businesses a solid footing, helping them to remain stable, or even grow, during times of economic and political uncertainty, Decathlon is the latest proof of this.
Decathlon, having previously invested £4.3 million during 2019 in ecommerce solutions and also in supply-chain systems, in a bid to reinforce it’s multichannel capabilities has continued to invest in ecommerce, as well as opening a new store in Ealing Broadway.
It has been reported in the news that the brand has introduced a new ecommerce solutions, and intends to open four new shops, going from strength to strength.
UK revenues grew by 10% for Decathlon, with a huge chink of that grow being driven by an 18.3% growth in ecommerce. However, the brand is still expecting to post 2019 losses of around £7.5 million. This is, the brand states, due to planned investment in it’s UK expansion – and the Decathlon still expects to return to profit during the 2020 financial year.
The CFO for Decathlon UK, Alberto Bottan, stated:
“Online has continued to grow strongly (+18.2%) and we keep investing heavily in ecommerce and warehousing to help fulfil growing online demand.
“There are three elements to highlight looking forward: first of all we are very proud to have fully preserved employment during this terrible period; secondly we observe a strong acceleration in terms of urban mobility and fitness categories, where we can offer some amazing products to our customers; finally we are increasing our omni-channel capacities through innovative solutions like delivery from store or very fast, local deliveries.”
He went on: “Last year’s results show a trading period where turnover has strongly improved. And even if 2020 remains a very complicated year due to the Covid impact on retail, we are very confident in our ongoing performances and we aim to achieve profitability by the end of the year.
“We have invested over £200,000 in the training and development of our teams, that are at the heart of our expansion strategy. The teammates are well trained and skilled in our culture, products and the sports in which we operate. Truly, they are a major asset for us.”
