“Our new locations in Recklinghausen and Bochum demonstrate our commitment to further promoting sports culture in the region and making it easier for local people to access sports products for beginners and experts alike,” says Abdelaziz Rachidi, Head of Expansion at Decathlon Germany. “Thanks to our new formats and the integration of digital and brick-and-mortar retail, we are also able to present our product diversity in an area of around 1,000 sq m and can therefore be as close as possible to our customers in the major shopping centers.”
“Our leasing strategies for Westfield Ruhr Park and Palais Vest are paying off in full,” explains Katharina Zeiler, Director of Leasing Austria & Germany. “We have added further highlights to the already excellent brand mix in recent months and are also offering even more attractive shopping and leisure experiences for our visitors with various modernizations and expansions of retail units. The Decathlon stores are a key addition to the offer and new highlights in the sporting goods segment. With our partner Decathlon, we are increasing the appeal of both centers in the surrounding regions and strengthening them for the future.”
Westfield Ruhr Park: open-air destination in Bochum
With around 118,700 sq m of rental area and over 150 stores, Westfield Ruhr Park in Bochum is one of the largest shopping and leisure destinations in Germany. The brand name Westfield Ruhr Park, which was introduced in autumn 2024, has made the already extremely successful destination even more attractive for national and international brands and concepts. A major highlight in the leasing context was the opening of the questing & reality gaming concept Boda Borg last year. The importance as a dining and leisure destination is reinforced by UCI and a comprehensive range of restaurants and cafés from national and international brands. The open-air location Westfield Ruhr Park is easy to reach by car, including via a direct motorway connection, as well as via various bus routes. Various modern mobility services and Tesla e-charging stations are also available.
Palais Vest: the hub of Recklinghausen’s city center
As part of its strategic positioning and continuous development, Palais Vest has become a central hub in the city center of Recklinghausen and the surrounding region. In light of its 10th anniversary in autumn 2024, the center is in an ongoing process of further differentiating and enhancing its already attractive tenant and brand mix. With around 100 shops on 45,600 sq m of rental area, Palais Vest is positioning itself even more strongly as a shopping and convenience hub with a high local supply character in the city center of Recklinghausen. As part of the leasing strategy, various components were established and new key partnerships were concluded or significantly expanded. For example, new or expanded partnerships with Smyths Toys, C&A and Al Carbon were launched last year.
