In 2021, after six years of operating the original store in Durango, Decathlon proposed a project to expand and renovate the store in the Biscayan town. The Durango store was born as a “Koodza”, the French multinational’s brand for more compact formats and smaller sales areas. Over the years, the increase in sales led to the need to increase the surface area of the store and adapt the image to Decathlon’s large format stores in Spain.
It is a store that, until 2021, had a sales floor area of 1,320m2 and a total of 1,484m2 of built space. The store has been operational since 2015 and expanded to the current 1,960m2 of sales room and 2,235m2 of built area.
The property is located in a Commercial Park next to Leroy Merlin Compact and Alcampo (owner of the property), a store that has reduced its surface area by the amount that Decathlon has increased.
The project consisted, in particular, of the extension of the commercial area, renovation of the facade and image of the store, improvement, and renovation of the rooms for the collaborators, and finally, the creation of a transit area for goods and a loading and unloading dock. For this purpose, the façade was covered with sandwich panels.
The owner carried out the extension, during which GMD Solutions supervised the works for its client. These works consisted of the demolition and removal of the partition wall, execution of the floor screed, and installation of a new air conditioning machine.
In the remaining phases of the project, GMD Solutions participated as Project Manager for Decathlon, carrying out a project of modification of activity with works, highlighting that internally, all the interior areas were refurbished, both public (toilets) and private areas, improving the comfort of both customers and collaborators; a new sprinkler network was installed throughout the store; the air recovery and renewal system was installed in the collaborators’ areas; and, finally, the store was provided with goods handling area, which has a newly built loading and unloading dock, a waste compactor, and the creation of a bunker for the sale of ammunition.
GMD Solutions, through its technical office department, prepared all the necessary projects and managed the works, which was particularly complex since everything was done in an open store. The coordination between companies and the fulfillment of the work planning has been essential for everything to be done correctly, adequately, and safely for the people. The works were completed during the second half of June 2021 so the store could face the summer season with the entire surface available.
The companies involved in the execution were the construction company MELCOR, in charge of all the civil works, the renovation of the facade, and the construction of the new goods handling areas; Meta Instalaciones, a low voltage and IT company, Prosegur as a company specialized in Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) and intrusion and, finally, AAISA as a fire protection installer, which has been responsible for the renovation of the store’s detection system, the installation of sprinklers in the store and modification and expansion of the fire hydrants. All of them are regular companies in Decathlon’s refurbishments and new installations in Spain.
With this reform, expansion, and renovation work, GMD Solutions continues its collaboration with the French company, which began in 2013 with the opening of the Decathlon Ciudad Real and has been reinforced over the years with countless projects. These include the CLA logistics warehouse in Getafe, Decathlon Jaén (opened in December 2019), the renovation of Decathlon Salamanca, the new store in Dos Hermanas, and many other projects for the French multinational.