The French sporting goods chain Decathlon officially returned to Argentina this Saturday with the opening of its first store in the Al Río complex, in Vicente López. The company announced a total investment of USD 100 million to open 20 stores over the next five years, in a move that marks the return of foreign capital to the country after two decades of absence.
The business group in charge of the operation is Grupo One, made up of Argentine Manuel Antelo and the couple Sabine Moulliez and Pedro Aguirre Saravia, part of the powerful French family that owns more than 150 global brands. They already operate successfully in Uruguay and Paraguay, and they chose Argentina as their third destination in the region “because of its consumption potential and its economic recovery.”
“Decathlon is experiencing strong growth in South America, and Argentina has all climates and all sports,” Antelo said during the opening ceremony, highlighting the expectations for the country's new economic cycle. According to his statement, the company will hire one thousand people—including salespeople, administrative staff, and logistics personnel—as the expansion progresses.
The Vicente López store has 3,000 square meters (32,292 square feet) and offers about 5,000 product references for 65 sports disciplines, including in-house brands such as Quechua, Domyos, Rockrider, and Kipsta. The store also features automated checkouts with smart sensors and self-service payment systems, technology that places this branch among the most modern in the group worldwide.
