Having recently spent a lot of time and money in this shop I thought it was time that I shared my experience with you.
The shop
-------------
The shop I will be reviewing is the one nearest to me in Nottingham situated on the Giltbrook trading estate. There are other stores across the ... Read review
Advantages: Something for every sport, cheap Disadvantages: Not always in your size, slight damage to some goods
Having recently spent a lot of time and money in this shop I thought it was time that I shared my experience with you.
The shop
-------------
The shop I will be reviewing is the one nearest to me in Nottingham situated on the Giltbrook trading estate. There are other stores across the country, check out www.decathlon.co.uk for store locations and opening times.
The shop in Nottingham is large with ... ...Ikea and Next store so during sales parking can be a bit tricky.
The aisles are clearly marked as to what you can find. Almost every type of sport is catered for in the store from horse riding to bike riding, ice and roller skating, camping (although it seems to be seasonal and you can only get a good range of things in the spring and summer for camping), tennis, water sports…basically you name it and they have the gear for it. more
Having recently spent a lot of time and money in this shop I thought it was time that I shared my experience with you.
The shop -------------
The shop I will be reviewing is the one nearest to me in Nottingham situated on the Giltbrook trading estate. There are other stores across the country, check out www.decathlon.co.uk for store locations and opening times.
The shop in Nottingham is large with plenty of parking, although it is situated next to an Ikea and Next store so during sales parking can be a bit tricky.
The aisles are clearly marked as to what you can find. Almost every type of sport is catered for in the store from horse riding to bike riding, ice and roller skating, camping (although it seems to be seasonal and you can only get a good range of things in the spring and summer for camping), tennis, water sports…basically you name it and they have the gear for it.
The staff -------------
The staff are usually very helpful and knowledgeable. A few times now I have wanted to buy products in different sizes to what is on display and the staff have been helpful, although they only have what is on display, there is apparently no storage space, the staff will check around the area to make sure what you want has not been dumped somewhere else.
The products -------------------
The products sold are either big brand names such as reebok and Nike or there own brands that are called B’Twin and Quechua. They often have a ‘blue brand’ product which is a good value product, usually the cheapest in the range and offers good value for money.
The prices ---------------
The prices charged are good value as far as I am concerned, no doubt if you are an expert in a particular sport then this is not the shop for you, they don’t tend to sell high end goods or clothing. But for the ordinary person looking to buy a basic bike, or get some hiking shoes or start a child in a particular sport this is the place to go!
I have recently bought myself a pair of adult sized 5.5 figure ice skates they were marked as £34.99 but did have a few marks on them, I asked if it would be possible to have a discount due to these marks (to be honest I would have paid full price) and they offered to take off £5 which I though was very reasonable. I had previously looked at buying some skates from our local ice rink and was advised they started at £100. Looking at the quality I can see that the ones I bought are no-where near the standard of the pair that cost £100, however I don’t know when I will get round to using the skates and if I will go that often, so £35 seemed a much better price to pay…should I train to be a professional skater I would look at buying better skates, but for now these are perfect!
Sale items are usually really good value, although they have a few big sales throughout the year they always seem to have a few sale items in different sections when I visit, well worth a look through for a bargain!
The Loyalty Card ------------------------
They have recently introduced a loyalty card, this gives you 5 points every time you buy an item and 1 point per pound spent in store, when you have enough points (100 = £1) they will send you vouchers in the post to use in store. These vouchers last for 1 year so you have plenty of time to spend them.
Also when you hand over your loyalty card sometimes they inform you of special offers where if you have spent enough you can get free items, we have so far had a free £5 voucher and a wet suit type t-shirt!
Any downsides? -----------------------
The main problem I have encountered is finding something I like, such as a pair of really cheap inline skates and then being told they don’t have my size, this is annoying but I can see why the most popular sizes of things sell fast.
Another problem is that sometimes the equipment they sell gets marked due to being handled a lot and the way it is all stored on display. However, they are usually happy to offer you up to 10% discount if you ask for one due to any marks or slight damage.
Would I recommend this shop? --------------------------------------------
Yes, definitely! I find it hard not to go into this shop and come out without buying something, I’m not very sporty but I always find something that I think I will use, hubby is going to stop taking me soon as I keep talking him into buying me new sports shoes!
For anyone interested I have bought from this shop in the last 4 years a step machine, in-line skates with all the pads and bag, ice-skates, summer walking shoes, skipping rope, badminton rackets and shuttle cocks, keep fit gear (leggings and t-shirts), swimming cap, camping table, camping lantern, sleeping bags for me and children, and hubby has bought bike bits (pedals, brake cables, inner tubes). I am so glad they have a loyalty card – I spend far too much of hubby’s wages in this shop!
Advantages: Plenty parking Disadvantages: Can get busy at weekends
...bag. I bought the Decathlon brand bag, at 7.99. It looks good and is very sturdy. I am hopeful that it will last a long time. It was easily the best buy there, as the big brands were much more expensive for items of comparable quality. For example a bag of similar size to the one I bought was 17.99.
I feel that Decathlon is a good store, with all you might need, to do which ever sport you choose. Its location is good, with plenty parking, good staff, ...
Shufflebum 11.10.2001
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Decathlon (Shop)
...for an opinion on the Decathlon shops.
I’m really angry because of them but first I’ll present you those shops then I’ll tell you why I’m mad with them.
Those shops have opened in France and in Europe generally a couple years ago they are spread all over the country. Some of theses shop are specialized in a kind of sport like running or hitchhiking but most of the times decathlon’s shop sell every kind of sport equipment from shoes to bikes including ... ...shuttlecocks except those made by Decathlon itself. That’s the same for rackets they are either really poor quality ones or really expansive ones for top players, I would love to buy those ones but I’m not the national champion for the while so …
There’s another thing that I think to be a bad thing, most of their departments are filled with Decathlon’s products (Inesis, Quechua, Domyos…) that are rarely to quality products for technical equipments ...
Sigisbert 15.10.2003
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Decathlon (Shop)
Advantages: Everything under one roof Disadvantages: Can get very busy and run out of stock
Nottingham Store
(+) All your sporting needs under one roof (football, Rugby, Squash, Tennis, Biking, Camping, Tents, Gyms, Horse riding, Snooker etc)
(+) Good prices.
(+) Can get some great sale items
(+) Loads of car parking
(+) Staff are very friendly and well trained. I asked questions about camping equipment and there recommendations where great value and very practical to my needs
(+) Cool shopping baskets that have wheels so you pull ... ...card available
(+) There own branded items have been good value and lasted in quality
(-) So big it takes you ages to walk around and see what’s on offer.
(-) Can get very busy.
(-) Can have items all over aisle as it gets really busy
(-) All stock is out. I went on a bank holiday weekend and they had run out of what I wanted to buy and many more items ...
laptop07 12.05.2007
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Decathlon (Shop)
Price
Value for money
Selection & range
Availability
Quality
Staff knowledge
Quick review of Decathlon (Shop)
I bought a Mountain Bike from Decathlon in 2002 and it was fine, well made, used good components and I had no problems with it. I wore it out and returned to buy a replacement in 2006.
This bike looked ok in the shop, but pretty soon it was obvious that it was a pile of Cr&p ! it was made in China, the teeth broke off the cogs, the brakes were useless, the thing started to go rusty, the suspension was a joke, there was no damping so it was extremely uncomfortable.
I took it back and they were good enough to refund my money.
But I can't recomend their bikes unless you spend £400 +in which case you can choose from many other good brands which will undoubtedly be better in every way ...
DavidbrownStar 31.05.2007
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Decathlon (Shop)
Advantages: Cheap Disadvantages: Terrible quality, completely unreliable, poor customer service
...quite honest the products from Decathlon are so shoddy it's almost beyond belief. I bought a bike from there because it seemed cheap, but within a very short space of time, the handlebars had worked loose, the pedals had fallen off, the lights fell off and smashed, both tyres burst, etc, etc. I took it back to the store on several occasions, and admittedly they did do the repairs, but added insult to injury by trying to blame me and charge me for ...
gaz01 29.10.2005
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Decathlon (Shop)
