Leading shopping centre owner intu is to help Decathlon UK tap into the growing office-to-sports trend among professionals working near to its newest store at intu Uxbridge.
The high-footfall retail destination in west London is ideally located for the international sports retailer to reach the rising number of people building exercise into their working day thanks to its close proximity to the UK headquarters of global giants like Apple, Coca-Cola and Cadbury.
Research from Mintel shows that increasing consumer interest in health and wellness trends is having an impact on sports goods sales, which were estimated to have risen by 6% last year compared to 2015*.
Decathlon UK has agreed terms with intu to take 18,000 sq ft of space that was previously a BHS store at intu Uxbridge for 15 years until its closure last summer.
Rebecca Ryman, regional director at intu, said: “intu’s nationwide portfolio of the country’s most popular shopping destinations means we’re well placed to help brands flourish as they tap into important shifts in consumer behaviour such as the growing trend around health and sports.
“At intu Uxbridge, its high number of young and affluent customers makes it the perfect location for Decathlon to meet this growing demand for health and sports goods as part of its strategy to enter more high-footfall destinations.”
Ricardo Rodriguez, London Expansion Manager at Decathlon, said: “Bringing Decathlon to intu Uxbridge is an important part of our strategy to make sports accessible to as many people as possible and to introduce more stores in densely populated urban locations. As a high-footfall, destination shopping centre, intu Uxbridge is an ideal location for us to reach more sports users in west London.”
