French sporting goods giant Decathlon to open store in Calgary

A French sporting goods retailer with over 1,600 stores worldwide is expanding to Western Canada with a new store in Calgary.

Southcentre Mall will be home to the first Decathlon sports location west of Ontario.

The 70,000 square-foot store and distribution centre will occupy the second floor of the former Sears store.

The company said in a release that the store will have an automated warehouse to service e-commerce deliveries in Western Canada and one of the country's largest selections of Decathlon products for more than 65 sports.

"The store will feature an experiential and showroom-based shopping journey, as well as a café, a co-working space, after-sale service workshops and a multi-sport area where activities and classes will be held by local coaches," the release said.

Currently, there are five Decathlon stores in Quebec, one in Nova Scotia and two in Ontario.

"Decathlon will be a significant addition to the area and will signal the next phase in the redevelopment of this retail space," said Southcentre Mall general manager Jason Bos. 

"The great news is that Decathlon is one of a half dozen new stores opening in the coming months, and the latest in a series of new openings throughout the year."