Owner of the b’twin road bike brand, Decathlon, has postponed the opening of its new facility in Lille, France. The French sporting goods giant was reportedly holding up to 1 million bikes in stock at the end of 2008. Given current economic conditions, the company has therefore scaled back its manufacturing plans. It is understood that the new Lille facility shall be delayed by up to two years.
Decathlon Group itself is part of the Oxylane group, a network of companies focused on sport. The name is derived from ‘oxy’ (oxygen) and ‘lane’ (pathway). The Oxylane group brings together all group company activities, from research and development to design, production and logistics and customer sales.
Despite the postponement of the Lille bike facility, other Decathlon activities and investments are understood to be continuing, including a new store in Rostock, Germany, that brings its tally of stores in Germany to ten.
