Saudi Arabia’s largest fashion retail business, Fawaz Abdulaziz Alhokair & Corporation (Alhokair Fashion Retail) has signed a franchise agreement with the world’s largest sporting goods retailer, Decathlon Group, with a plan to launch their first sporting goods store in Jeddah.
Alhokair said in a statement, “Decathlon is the first of multiple brands in Alhokair’s franchise pipeline, with the agreement marking the company’s commitment to growing its portfolio and securing long-term growth.”
French company Decathlon has more than 40 brands in the athletic goods and equipment sector, and currently working in more than 1,600 stores across 69 countries. The company has reported worldwide revenue of $13.4 billion last year.
Alhokair said the company expects to open its first Decathlon store in Saudi Arabia at the Mall of Arabia in Jeddah in the first half of next year. The first store will be 3,359 square meters. And, Alhokair has also targeted the opening of 30 additional stores throughout the Kingdom, as part of the ten-year franchise agreement.
Alhokair Fashion Retail
Alhokair Fashion Retail was founded in 1990 by Fawaz, Salman, and Abdul Majeed Alhokair. The company opened its first store in 1991 and now operates more than 1,915 shops across 100 shopping malls in 13 countries, with a workforce of about 11,000 workers. Its portfolio consists of around 80 international brands, including products such as womenswear, menswear, kids wears, department stores, shoes and accessories, cosmetics, and coffee shops.
The company was forced to close several stores along with other retailer shops earlier this year due to the coronavirus outbreak. And they started to reopen their outlets on April 29 onwards with all pandemic precautions.
