Decathlon (retailer)

History

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

The company expanded abroad to Germany in 1986, Spain in 1992, Italy in 1993, Belgium in 1997, Portugal, the United Kingdom in 1999, Brazil in 2001, mainland China in 2003, Russia in 2006, India and Romania in 2009, Turkey and Czech Republic in 2010, Sweden in 2011, Taiwan and Lebanon in 2012, Hong Kong in 2013, Malaysia, Singapore and Mexico in 2016, South Africa, Philippines, Tunisia and Indonesia in 2017; in South Korea, and Australia in 2018, and Canada and Serbia in 2019.

In September 2019, Decathlon reached an agreement with Alltricks, an online retailer of accessories for cyclists and runners.

In 2022 Decathlon closed their retail store presence in the United States.

In 2023, Decathlon opened a training centre in Lille. By October 2023, Decathlon had nine training centres in partnership with Afpa Entreprises, an association for the professional training of adults, and three centres of its own on its premises.

In November 2023, Decathlon acquired Bergfreunde, an online specialist retailer for mountain sports, climbing, and outdoor equipment. Decathlon is increasing its investments to boost production and expand its retail presence in India, from where it presently exports around 65% of its output to international markets, according to Global CEO Barbara Martin Coppola.

In July 2024, Decathlon reported its investment Recyc'Elit, a start-up specialized in the chemical recycling of polyester textiles and complex PET plastics. This year it was also announced that Decathlon is partnered CNES and Spartan Space to develop an intravehicular spacesuit. In November 2025, Decathlon unveiled its first spacesuit for European astronauts to wear aboard the International Space Station.

In April 2025, Decathlon initiated a process to sell a 30% stake of its China business, with its China business being valued at over $1 billion.

Corporate affairs

Financial results

The key trends of Decathlon are (as at the financial year ending December 31):

Chief executive officers

• Michel Aballea (2015–2022)
• Barbara Martin Coppola (2022–2025)
• Javier Lopez (2025–)

Product brands

Decathlon is vertically integrated, designing and developing its own products and marketing under its more than 85 brands, with each sport, and often sub-sports and sports groups, having their own. In March 2024, the company launched a simplified brand portfolio consisting of category specialist brands and expert brands.

Category specialist brands

• BTwin – Cycling
• Caperlan – Wildlife
• Domyos – Fitness
• Inesis – Golf
• Kipsta – Team sport
• Kuikma – Racket sports
• Quechua – Mountaineering apparel
• Rockrider – Mountain biking
• Tribord – Sailing

Expert brands

• Kiprun – Running
• Simond – Mountaineering equipment
• Solognac – Hunting, bushcraft and wildlife observation
• Van Rysel – Cycling

Sports team ownership

Cycling

In November 2023, Decathlon was announced as the co-title sponsor of the UCI WorldTeam professional cycling team AG2R La Mondiale Team in a five-year deal from 2024 onwards, renaming the team as Decathlon–AG2R La Mondiale Team.

In July 2025, Decathlon announced it has taken full ownership of the team from AG2R La Mondiale that will take effect at the end of the season. With the full ownership, Decathlon aims to be the world top three team by 2028 and will increase the team budget to €40 million. Shortly after, Decathlon announced CMA CGM as the team's co-title sponsor in a five-year deal and will race as Decathlon–CMA CGM Team starting 1 January 2026.

Sponsorship

Association football

Clubs

• BEL R. Charleroi S.C.
• BEL RAEC Mons
• BEL RWDM Brussels
• BEL Royal FC Mandel United
• BEL Sporting Hasselt
• ENG City of Liverpool
• FRA AS Nancy-Lorraine
• NED Roda JC Kerkrade

Players

• FRA Quentin Bernard
• FRA Jason Berthomier
• FRA Yannick Cahuzac
• FRA Jérémy Choplin
• FRA Julien Faussurier
• FRA Gauthier Gallon
• FRA Pierre Gibaud
• FRA Romain Grange
• FRA Antoine Griezmann
• FRA Matthieu Huard
• FRA Jean-Louis Leca
• FRA Marinette Pichon
• FRA Jessy Moulin
• FRA Matthieu Sans
• FRA Jérémy Vachoux
• MAD Jérôme Mombris
• POR Claude Gonçalves

Associations and leagues

Kipsta is the official match ball supplier for the following associations and leagues:

• Belgium Pro League
  • Belgian Pro League
  • Challenger Pro League
  • Belgian Women's Super League
  • Belgian Cup
• France Ligue de Football Professionnel
  • Ligue 1
  • Ligue 2
• Ghana Ghana Women's Premier League
• ITA Lega Pro
  • Serie C

International confederation and tournament

• EU UEFA
  • UEFA Europa League
  • UEFA Conference League

Athletics

• USA Paul Chelimo
• FRA Jimmy Gressier

Basketball

• FIBA West Asia Super League (Official match ball supplier)
• BEL Antwerp Giants
• BEL Belgium
• FRA Alex Sarr
• ITA Verona
• USA NBA (Official licensee)

Cycling

• France Decathlon–CMA CGM (Bike supplier)
• France Van Rysel–Roubaix

Squash

• England Robert Downer
• France Mélissa Alves
• France Antoine Camille Petrucci
• France Camille Serme

Tennis

Players

• FRA Gaël Monfils
• AUS Daria Kasatkina

Events

• CRO Croatia Open
• FRA Moselle Open
• FRA Cherbourg Challenger
• ITA Garden Open
• ITA Napoli Tennis Cup
• ITA Open Città della Disfida
• ITA Open Città di Bari
• ITA Trofeo Faip–Perrel
• SWE Swedish Open
• SWI Swiss Open

Other notable sponsorships

Decathlon Germany will be the main sponsor of the IBU World Cup Biathlon as of the 2021–22 season.

Decathlon bought a five-year naming rights for Lille's Stade Pierre-Mauroy for €6 million from 2022 onwards, renaming the stadium as Decathlon Arena Stade Pierre-Mauroy.

Since 2023, Van Rysel has been the title sponsor of the Roubaix cycling team.

Decathlon became an official partner of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The partnership was extended with Decathlon supplying official uniforms to the International Paralympic Committee members for the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games.

Decathlon Lebanon is the title sponsor of the Lebanese Basketball League, renaming it as the Decathlon Lebanese Basketball League.

Locations

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

Online delivery has been introduced in Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong SAR, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan,Kenya, Latvia, Lebanon, Mainland China, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Philippines, Romania, Serbia, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Taiwan, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and recently, Egypt, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Economic review

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". This dominant position has the effect of marginalizing its commercial competitors, including independent retailers.

Competition

In 2009, Decathlon's sector rivals, and , joined forces to set up a common purchasing centre 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.

Controversies

Human rights issues and use of forced labour

Decathlon 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.

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. Decathlon has, however, declined to disclose the names of its suppliers.

In February 2025, French investigative media outlet Disclose, in collaboration with the France 2 television program Cash Investigation, published an exposé revealing that Decathlon, a prominent French sports retailer, had sourced products from Qingdao Jifa Group—a Chinese textile manufacturer implicated in state-sponsored forced labor programs targeting the Uyghur minority in Xinjiang. The investigation uncovered that Jifa's subsidiary, Xinjiang Xirong Clothing, received government subsidies to "train ethnic minorities," a practice associated with coercive labor transfers. Additionally, a manager at a Jifa facility acknowledged that cotton used in their production could originate from Xinjiang, raising concerns about forced labor in Decathlon's supply chain.

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

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. On 29 March, Decathlon announced that it has ceased its operations and suspended the operation of all its stores in Russia. 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.

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. 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. In December 2023, Decathlon confirmed that they are supplying a limited quantity of their products to ARM for a limited time period as part of the company's disengagement agreement in Russia in respond to a report that the company continued to supply their products to Russia through shell companies.

Notes

References

References

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