ProLogis Leases 380,000 Square Feet in Belgium to Decathlon

AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands, Dec. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ProLogis , a leading global provider of distribution facilities and services, announced today that it has leased approximately 380,000 square feet (35,300 square meters) in Belgium to Decathlon, a European retailer of consumer sports equipment and apparel.

Decathlon has leased the new industrial facility at ProLogis Park Willebroek in the Brussels-Antwerp metropolitan corridor. The park will function as a primary distribution center for Decathlon, serving markets across Western Europe and the United Kingdom.

"Decathlon has enjoyed phenomenal growth over the past 10 years," said Ko Nuijten, ProLogis vice president for the Benelux region. "In addition, the company has developed a sophisticated distribution network and support systems, which ensure the rapid delivery of its goods on a global basis. We are very pleased Decathlon has selected ProLogis for this important project and look forward to serving as their distribution facilities provider."

"We're pleased to have signed this agreement with ProLogis," said Georges Hanot, chief executive for Decathlon Benelux NV. "Given the continued growth of our business, we have decided to lease a new, state-of-the-art distribution center at ProLogis Park Willebroek, instead of delivering the goods from northern France. We expect to see substantial improvements in efficiency and lower transport costs as a result of this initiative, along with even higher service levels and faster delivery of goods to our retail locations."

ProLogis Park Willebroek is located inside the Willebroek-Zuid industrial park about 25 kilometers from both the Port of Antwerp and Brussels International Airport. The park, which offers direct access to Belgium's A-12 and E1/E19 motorways through the N46 expressway, will comprise approximately 577,000 square feet (53,600 square meters) of industrial space at full build-out.

Decathlon operates more than 350 stores and production facilities across Europe and the rest of the world. It sells a wide variety of sporting goods to consumers under a number of leading brand names, including Decathlon Cycle, Quechua and Tribord.

About ProLogis

ProLogis is a leading provider of distribution facilities and services with 371.9 million square feet (34.6 million square meters) in more than 2,300 distribution facilities owned, managed and under development in 75 markets in North America, Europe and Asia, as of Sept. 30, 2005. ProLogis continues to expand the industry's first and largest global network of distribution facilities with the objective of building shareholder value. The company expects to achieve this through the ProLogis Operating System(R) and its commitment to be 'The Global Distribution Solution' for its customers, providing exceptional facilities and services to meet their expansion and reconfiguration needs.