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The distribution centre of sports chain Decathlon in Willebroek will no longer supply Dutch stores as of 2020, when the brand opens a new centre in the Netherlands, De Tijd wrote on Wednesday.
In 2016, when work on the new distribution centre in Willebroek started, Decathlon raised the possibility of also housing the logistics for online business in the Dutch market there. According to De Tijd, the Netherlands will instead have its own distribution centre due to considerable growth there. The fact that night work could not be organised in Willebroek also played a part in the decision to move operations.
The loss of the supply to the Netherlands will not be felt in Belgium, according to the management. “There is no influence on our activities in Willebroek and certainly not on employment,” assures Koen Tengrootenhuysen, property manager at Decathlon Belgium. The centre currently employs 398 people.
Unions and management have not been able to come to an agreement on night work. The employment minister, Kris Peeters, has said he is ready to send a social trouble-shooter “to help resolve the discussion.”
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