Decathlon is a large sporting goods retailer founded in France in 1976 that has expanded to over 1,000 stores in 27 countries. It develops and sells its own private label brands for various sports, totaling 20 brands. Decathlon aims to make sport accessible to all through technical, good-looking, and affordable products. It focuses heavily on research and development, registering around 40 patents per year through its sports research lab and industrial division, which works to provide efficient components and production solutions for its passion brands. Decathlon's new sustainable logistics hub in Italy features solar panels and efficient HVAC systems to reduce its environmental impact.

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A RESEARCH ON RETAIL CHAIN
Decathlon
Decathlon, a network of innovative retail chain and brands
providing enjoyment for all sports people.
About
Decathlon is our original chain. Created in 1976, it heralded a new concept
in France: “All sports under one roof”. Decathlon stores, present in 26
countries, are the only stores to sell Passion Brand products and services
linked to sporting activity and a passion for sport.
Decathlon is one of the world's largest sporting goods retailers.
Decathlon started with a store in Lille, France in 1976, founded by Michel
Leclercq. It started to expand abroad a decade later, to Germany in 1986,
Spain in 1992, Italy in 1998, Portugal, the United Kingdom in 1999, China
in 2003, India in 2009 and Southeast Asia in 2012. Today, there are more
than 850 stores in 22 countries. The company employs more than 60,000
staff from 80 different nationalities.
The retailer stocks a wide range of sporting goods, from tennis rackets to
advanced scuba diving equipment, usually in large superstores which are
sized at an average of 4,000m². Decathlon Group also owns 20 brands, with
research and development facilities all over France to develop the latest
innovative designs, registering up to 40 patents per year. Each brand
represents a different sport or group of sports, with a dedicated product
development and design team.
At Decathlon, 70,000 of them live their common Purpose on a daily basis:
“to make the pleasure and benefits of sport accessible to all”.
In every country where they are present, they share a strong and unique
company culture, reinforced by their two values: Vitality and Responsibility.
At Decathlon, they place innovation at the heart of their activities: from
research to retail, including design, production and logistics .

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Their twenty Passion Brand teams channel all their energy in to developing
technical, good-looking and simple products, always at the lowest possible
prices.
These products are aimed at all sports enthusiasts, from beginners to
experts, and are sold exclusively at Decathlon.
Approach
We design, we manufacture & we sell products that are technically superior at
affordable prices

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The journey so far…
Key Figures
UK
19
3
0
2
6
1
3
2
5
2
8
1
9
16
6
1
7
3
9
17
3
8
1
5
9
3
4
1
0
456

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The last 39 years…
European Number 1 in both activity sectors (product retailer and designer)
2015 sales €9.9 billion (35% in France, 65% internationally)
74,000 team members 63 nationalities 350 jobs
1031 stores all over the world in 27 countries
40,000 products 20 Passion Brands
65 sports represented in-store
Passion Brands
Twenty Passion Brand teams channel all their energy into developing attractive,
technical, yet simple products, always at the lowest possible prices.

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The retailer develops and sells its own brands. Each sport or group of sports has a
separate brand name:
Aptonia - Nutrition and Healthcare
Artengo - Racket Sports
B'Twin - Cycling
Caperlan - Fishing
Domyos - Fitness, Gym, Yoga, Dance,
Fouganza - Horse Riding
Geologic - Target Sports such as Archery, Darts and Pétanque
Geonaute - Sports Electronics
Inesis - Golf
Kalenji - Running
Kipsta - Team Sports
Nabaiji - Swimming

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Newfeel - Walking and Urban Wear
Orao - Eyewear and Optical Accessories
Outshock - Martial Sports
Oxelo - Rollersports, Skating and Scooters
Quechua - Hiking, Camping and Outdoor Gear
Simond - Mountaineering
Solognac - Hunting
Tribord - Watersports
Wed'Ze - Skiing and Snowboarding
Brands providing technical support for the products of its passion brands:
EQUAREA - Clothing designed for the active removal of sweat
ESSENSOLE - Shoe soles and insoles
NOVADRY - Waterproof and breathable clothes
STRATERMIC - Warm and light clothes
STRENFIT - Light and Robust Synthetic fabrics (non garment)
SUPPORTIV - Support and compression

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Decathlon Footprint in India
2015 – 37 stores in 15 States
2016 – 65 stores in 18 states
Retail Formats
Decathlon stores, present in 21 countries, are the only stores to sell Passion Brand
products
45 warehouses and logistics platforms worldwide
20 Passion Brands, Decathlon’s own brands
944 million products sold

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Breakdown of POS by country:
COUNTRY Number of stores Opening
FRANCE 286
SPAIN 133 10
ITALY 106 6
GREAT CHINA (TAIWAN INCLUDED)166 51
POLAND 45 2
PORTUGAL 28 5
HUNGARY 17 1
GERMANY 26 3
BELGIUM 25 3
BRAZIL 19 1
UNITED KINGDOM 19 2
RUSSIA 39 15
ROMANIA 17 4
NETHERLANDS 6 1
TURKEY 15 6
CZECH REPUBLIC 9
SWEDEN 1
BULGARIA 4
CROATIA 3 2
MOROCCO 4 2
SLOVAKIA 3 3
THAILAND 5 5
SUB-TOTAL 1 013 139
PASSION BRAND STORES 8 1

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TOTAL 1 021 140
Decathlon debuts sustainable logistics hub
French sporting goods retailer Decathlon has opened a new, eco-friendly logistics hub
in Brandizzo in northwest Italy.
The warehouse is currently undergoing LEED certification and features LED lighting
in addition to rooftop solar panels capable of producing up to 350kW of electricity —
allowing the building to be powered self-sufficiently during the bright summer months.
Decathlon is also debuting a new layout at the Brandizzo facility, featuring two
automated mezzanine floors, which will be used in all of the company’s future
warehouses worldwide.
The building has a surface area of around 23,000 square metres and is split into two
units: one dedicated to picking, while the other stocks bulky material.
The heating and cooling system at the new logistics hub is based on 15 WSM high
efficiency reversible air cooled roof-top units by Climaveneta, a group company of
Mitsubishi Electric.
Alessandro Bergui , M&E Designer with Techbau SpA, who constructed the building,
says: "Nowadays buildings are the first cause of pollution and CO2 production in the
world. We drive Euro 6 and Euro 7 cars, while we live in buildings not so focused on
energy savings.
“For our and our children's future it is essential to start thinking about buildings as we
already do for automobiles, that is to say certifying energy performances. Following
this philosophy, at the new Decathlon logistics hub we've tried to take the maximum
advantage of renewable energies, since they don't come from fossil fuels and don't
cause any CO2 emissions, by installing photovoltaic panels and selecting high
efficiency HVAC units with air source."
Decathlon intends to design all of its new buildings to be eco-friendly.
Research and Development
Decathlon states an intention to propose and make accessible high-performance,
innovative products designed for the well-being of sports people.
The Decathlon research centre, the Industrial Division, the brands and the Design
department work daily to provide the best solutions for sports people of all abilities.
Decathlon keeps this promise on a daily basis by controlling every stage of the product

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creation process: listening to customers, analysing the human body in motion and
seeking out the best components.
From the day our first researcher was hired in 1990 until today, the significant increase
in investment in R&D clearly illustrates its importance to Decathlon.
upstream, Decathlon SportsLab carries out research programmes into the needs of
sports people.
Downstream, it also checks the technical balance between the brands’ offer and the
expectations of users. Decathlon SportsLab deploys considerable resources in order
to properly carry out the 5 steps essential to any scientific approach (observe,
understand, imagine, experiment and check):
 more than 50 researchers
 a worldwide network of scientific laboratories, research
organisations, universities and industrial partners.
On average, this organisation enables our teams to register 40 patents per year.
Industrial Division
The Industrial Division, a pillar of innovation for Decathlon
At Decathlon, innovations are born of observing customers and the passion of the
company’s employees.
Created in 1996, the Industrial Division consists of more than 500 people working at
Decathlon hQ in villeneuve d’Ascq, and around 2,100 people working in different
production countries.
In order to provide the Passion brands with efficient components and production
solutions, the Industrial Division is divided into industrial processes.
In our villeneuve d’Ascq headquarters (France), more than 3,000 prototypes are
made every year. Our prototype workshops are available for teams to observe the
behaviour and test the components of finished products. They help speed up the
design process and enable employees to play an active role in creating innovations at
the best price/quality ratio.
By:
Anup M.R
(2015JULB01016)