Decathlon (retailer)

Founded by Michel Leclercq in 1976, Decathlon started with a store in Lille, France.[10] Its holding company was formerly known as Oxylane.

The company expanded abroad a decade later: to Germany in 1986, Spain in 1992, Italy in 1993, Belgium in 1997,[11] Portugal, the United Kingdom in 1999, Brazil in 2001, mainland China in 2003, India in 2009, Turkey[12] and Czech Republic in 2010, Taiwan in 2012, Hong Kong in 2013, Malaysia and Singapore in 2016, South Africa, Philippines and Indonesia in 2017 in South Korea and Australia in 2018, and Canada in 2019. The company employs more than 93,710 staff[1] from 100 different nationalities.[13]

In 2015, Michel Aballea was appointed as Chief executive officer of the Decathlon group.[14] In January 2022, Decathlon named Ingka group's chief digital officer,[15] Barbara Martin Coppola, as its new global chief executive officer,[16][14] the first time the Decathlon group hired externally for this role.[17]

Decathlon is vertically integrated, designing and developing its own products and marketing under its more than 20 brands, with each sport, and often sub-sports and sports groups, having their own:

Countries with Decathlon stores[1]

Decathon in Łódź, Poland

Entrance of one of the Kochi stores in Kalamassery[43]

Entrance of İstanbul store

Entrance of Dalian store

Entrance of Arnhem store

Decathlon, Southside Wandsworth, London

Entrance of Amritsar, Punjab store

As of May 2021, Decathlon operated 1,655 Decathlon stores worldwide in nearly 1,000 cities and 65 countries.[1]

Online delivery has been introduced in Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Chile, Colombia, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong SAR, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Mainland China, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Philippines, Romania, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and recently, Egypt, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and parts of Canada (Ontario & Quebec).[44]

In India, Decathlon products may be purchased directly through their stores, after a change in India's FDI policy and approval for Decathlon in February 2013.[45] In addition to this, Decathlon products are also available online through their online resellers.

In late 2016, an online-only delivery service was introduced in Tunisia in preparation for the opening in Tunis of its first store.[46] The first store opened in November 2017 in Tunis City commercial center in Tunis.[47] A second location opened in April 2018 in the country situated in La Marsa.

In February 2017, they opened the first store in Bogota, Colombia in the mall Parque La Colina.[48]

In July 2017, Decathlon entered the Philippine market with a location at Festival Mall in Filinvest Corporate City, Alabang, Muntinlupa, and in Tiendesitas, Pasig.[49] In August 2017, the company announced it would open its first Canadian store in Brossard, Quebec during the spring of 2018.[50]

In November 2017, Decathlon entered the Indonesia market.[51]

Their first Australian store opened in Tempe, Sydney, NSW, in December 2017.[52] After two years in the Australian market, the viability of the Australian business is under question after posting a trading loss of $19,563,819 (Australian dollars) in two years of trading.[53]

In April 2018, the company announced it would open its first store in Kyiv, Ukraine, in the first months of 2019.[54]

In 2019, the company opened stores in Ireland;[55] Vietnam;[56] Bangladesh; Malta; and Serbia.[57] The company also opened U.S. stores in California, which later closed in 2022.[58][59] In an earlier attempt to enter the US market, it acquired the 18 Boston, Massachusetts area locations of MVP Sports Stores in 1999, rebranded them under the Decathlon brand, and subsequently closed those stores by 2006.

In November 2020, the first Decathlon store opened in Riga, Latvia.

Decathlon was supposed to open in Mauritius in April 2021 but due to the lockdown, the grand opening was on 13 May 2021.

In April 2021, the first Decathlon store opened in Saudi Arabia, Jeddah.[60]

Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, many international, particularly Western companies, pulled out of Russia. Decathlon has been criticized for not announcing any scaling down of its operations, unlike most of its Western competitors.[61][62] On 29 March, Decathlon announced that it has ceased its operations and suspended the operation of all its stores in Russia.[63] However, reports in mid-June indicated that the stores are still in operation and may be temporally closed by the end of the month until it becomes possible to renew supplies.[64] In May 2023, it became known that the Turkish company FLO Retailing and the Lebanese Azadea Group were negotiating the purchase of the Russian Decathlon. FLO Retailing has previously bought the Russian business of the Reebok chain.[65] As a result, the Russian government approved the sale of Decathlon to the Russian company ARM, which previously acquired the brand of the Spanish retailer Mango on a franchise basis. ARM promised to reopen all 35 Decathlon stores in Russia.[66]

On 1 August 2023, Decathlon closed their physical and online store in Bangladesh, and shifted to sell their products through Daraz and Unimart.

Its success has greatly contributed to the decline of independent retailers in France, while the spread of its own brands has caused great difficulties for traditional manufacturers. 2008 was a record year for the company as the brand Decathlon had beaten all its competitors on three key points: margin, market share, and highest turnover per square meter of retail space. It is arguably the third at a global level. A 2008 survey of 774 catchment areas at the request of the Ministry of Economy and Finance shows that "for sporting goods, Decathlon is dominant in 92.8% of zones".[67] This dominant position has the effect of marginalizing its commercial competitors, including independent retailers.[68]

In 2009, Decathlon's sector rivals, Go Sport and Sport 2000, joined forces to set up a common purchasing center in Switzerland, intended to "pressurize most of the major international suppliers", according to François Neukirsh, Managing Director of Go Sport, in the newspaper Les Échos. Otherwise, the company does not have significant competition due to its specific target audience in mass-market retail. Intersport is also a major competitor mainly in the European market. Decathlon has changed its name to Nolhtaced for a month in Belgium for promoting reverse shopping.[69]

Decathlon claims to follow a strict policy when it comes to employee welfare and that all contractors working with Decathlon follow the Human Responsibility in Production (HRP) process in all activities. The HRP designates the management system and resources implemented by Decathlon relative to workplace conditions at production sites and with suppliers.

Since 2003, Decathlon has adopted a social charter of the Social and Environmental Responsibility World Forum regarding human rights, health and safety, respect for the environment, corruption and management and communication.[70]

Decathlon has, however, declined to disclose the names of its suppliers, and has been under scrutiny after reports indicate that the company's suppliers in Sri Lanka's free trade zones violate the country's labour laws.[71]

• Media related to Decathlon Group at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website