French sporting goods retailer Decathlon announced it will close its last two U.S. stores – located in San Francisco – on March 15. The retailer will lay off 32 employees across the two stores.
A company statement that appeared earlier this month on its webside stated: “We are changing our business model to adapt to current market conditions and to better meet the needs of our customers,” wrote Christian Ollier, then CEO. “It’s clear that our products are well-received in the U.S. market — and we’ve seen record growth over the last few years. However, in order to grow in the right way, we need to adapt and pave the way for the Decathlon of the future.”
Less than two weeks later, Barbara Martin Coppola, a former Google and Ikea executive, was named the company’s new global CEO.
The vertically integrated retailer was founded in 1976 by Michael Leclercq and has grown into one of the world’s largest sports retailers, with nearly 1,700 stores in 60 countries.
