A Project Report on

“PROPOSE A MARKETING PLAN FOR GROWTH OF

A SPORTS BRAND IN THE INDIAN MARKET”

at

DECATHLON, QUECHUA

Submitted by Group 13
Dhanwanshu Pawar-1711013
Kathirvel T-1711028
S Anirudh Vishal Yadav-1711043
Thimmasarthi Hemanth-1711058

In partial fulfilment for curriculum project in

Marketing Management
Under the Guidance of
Mrs. Preeti. K Lyndem

at

Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore

Bannerghatta Road, Bilekahalli
Bangalore – 560 076
 PREFACE

With the increasing income levels, faster access of information and moving towards
higher standard of living; the urban Indian population is becoming more health and fitness
conscious. Factors like increased interest in Sports leagues, recent Olympic games and advent
of sports in the curriculum has led to a sharp rise in the demand for quality sports equipment
and services. Local brands, International brands as well as the e-commerce platforms are
trying to capture this market.
Being a very dynamic and constantly changing market, the industry demanded
Innovation. Having a fairly competitive market brands compete in this segment on the basis
of Quality, Service and product. Catering to just the basic needs does not ensure sales and
brands have to take steps further to come up with differentiating factors (PODs) to attract
customers.
Decathlon, a French company, has taken a huge leap in this section. It has become the
first sports good retailer to get 100 % FDI approval from Indian Government for single brand
retail stores. Decathlon is a one stop solution for price competitive high quality products for a
wide range of categories. There is a huge scope in Decathlon expanding and penetrating as a
leading brand in the Indian market if effective marketing strategies are applied.

"It could turn out to be a category killer, and create and define the category because
of the experience and product mix it has".
- Devangshu Dutta
Chief Executive
Third Eyesight

The report provides a Marketing plan for the chosen brand and product using
methodologies of market analysis like 5C Analysis and STP Analysis. Assessment of the
environment using 4P's and 7P's of product and service respectively. The undertaken project
helps to provide strategies and tactics for the brand to effectively expand into the Indian
market. The study and analysis is also based on market surveys, pilot interview, store visits
and expert analysis.
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We, Group 13 team members- Dhanwanshu, Kathirvel, Anirudh and Hemanth, would
like to express our gratitude to our guide Mrs. Preeti K. Lyndem for her constant
encouragement and mentoring during the course of this project. We would also like to thank
her for giving us the opportunity to do a project in our field of interest, and this has always
motivated us to strive hard and come up with great ideas during our course of work.
Also, we would like to thank Decathlon, for giving us an opportunity to work with
their brand and providing all the necessary help and information from time to time. This
helped us implement all the concepts that we have learnt in class to practical situations. A
special thanks to our industry guides-Mr. Akhil Mukundan, Mr. Priyatam Vusula, Mr.
Premnath Perumal and Mr. Kailash, for helping us complete our project successfully in the
stipulated time. Further we believe that the list of people would remain incomplete if we fail
to mention all the working staff at the store; they were constant source of encouragement and
timely help.
We would also like to make a special mention of Anveshan Group at IIMB,
Bangalore Trekking Group for their experiential insights and market perception of the brand.
A big thankyou to Ms. Namratha Sivanna, Mr.S Prakash Yadav and Mrs.Sunita Pawar for
devoting time for Pilot Interviews.
 Project Work timeline
Date Work Done Members Involved
01st July'17 Search and evaluation of sectors for project with the help of Dhanwanshu, Kathirvel,
market research Anirudh, Hemanth
03rd July'17 Selection of Decathlon, Contact with authority for permission to Hemanth
take up the project
05th July'17 VISIT 1-Meeting with Mr. Akhil Mukundan to discuss project Dhanwanshu, Kathirvel
proposal . Submission of project letter
06th July'17 Stage 1 Report Delivery - Choice of Brand and justification -
10th July'17 Market Survey in the Sports sector- Visit to Wildcraft and Anirudh
Woodland stores
15th July'17 SWOT Analysis of the brand for finalizing the project Kathirvel, Hemanth
deliverable needed for Stage 2
18th July'17 Formal Project Proposal stating needs and permissions required Dhanwanshu, Anirudh
for the project
19th July'17 According to the reply from Decathlon, working on survey Dhanwanshu, Anirudh
questionnaires, sent mail for the same
23th July'17 VISIT 2- Meeting with Mr. Akhil Mukundan for sub brand Dhanwanshu, Kathirvel,
selection, Finalization of brand Quechua Anirudh, Hemanth
31st July'17 Mid-Term exams -
01st Aug'17 Pilot interview of Ms. Namrata Sivanna (National player and Hemanth
enthusiastic trekker-TARGET AUDIENCE 1)
01st Aug'17 Contact with 'Bangalore Trekking Group' with the help of Kathirvel
Facebook and getting insight on brand perception
01st Aug'17 Launch of Questionnaire 1 for common public and Questionnaire Dhanwanshu, Kathirvel,
2 for regular trekkers/hikers Anirudh, Hemanth
03rd Aug'17 VISIT 3- 4 Informal Pilot interviews of customers, 3 Pilot Dhanwanshu, Kathirvel,
interviews of the staff Anirudh
05th Aug'17 Pilot Interview of Mr. S. Prakash Yadav (Middle Aged Male and Anirudh
fitness enthusiast-TARGET AUDIENCE 2)
05th Aug'17 Contact with 'Anveshan Group' of IIMB and getting insight on Dhanwanshu
brand perception-TARGET AUDIENCE 1
06th Aug'17 STP Analysis and 5C Analysis for the selected brands and Dhanwanshu, Kathirvel,
suggesting recommendations Anirudh, Hemanth
07th Aug'17 Stage 2 Report Delivery - Analysis and Recommendations -
16th Aug'17 Pilot Interview of Mrs. Sunita Pawar (Middle Aged Housewife Dhanwanshu
who goes for regular hikes- RECCOMENDED TARGET
AUDIENCE 3)
20th Aug'17 Study of Retail Layout for Woodland and Nike Kathirvel, Hemanth
25th Aug'17 VISIT 4- Study of Retail Layout and services and suggesting Kathirvel, Anirudh
recommendations to change in structure, Evaluation of employee
performance
26th Aug'17 Study of innovative marketing strategies from online sources Dhanwanshu, Kathirvel,
(Ex. Videos on consumer behaviour relating to store layout) Anirudh, Hemanth
29th Aug'17 Study of 4P's of product and 7P's of service and come up with Dhanwanshu, Kathirvel,
competitive strategies and tactics Anirudh, Hemanth
31st Aug'17 Stage 3 Final Report Delivery - Marketing Plan, Marketing -
Mix, Strategies and control systems
Table of Contents
1. Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................. 7
2. Situation Analysis ................................................................................................................................ 7
2.1 Company ....................................................................................................................................... 7
2.2 Customers ..................................................................................................................................... 8
2.3 Collaborators................................................................................................................................. 9
2.4 Competitors ................................................................................................................................ 10
2.5 Context ........................................................................................................................................ 10
3. Marketing Strategy ........................................................................................................................... 11
3.1 Mission ........................................................................................................................................ 11
3.2 Marketing Objectives .................................................................................................................. 12
3.3 Business Objectives ..................................................................................................................... 12
3.4 Target Markets ............................................................................................................................ 12
3.5 Positioning................................................................................................................................... 13
4. Marketing Tactics ............................................................................................................................. 14
4.1 Product ........................................................................................................................................ 15
4.2 Price ............................................................................................................................................ 16
4.3 Place ............................................................................................................................................ 16
4.4 Promotion ................................................................................................................................... 17
4.5 Physical Evidence ........................................................................................................................ 18
4.6 Processes..................................................................................................................................... 20
4.7 People ......................................................................................................................................... 20
5. Financials ........................................................................................................................................... 21
6. Controls ............................................................................................................................................. 21
Bibliography .......................................................................................................................................... 23
7. Decathlon Market Survey ................................................................................................................. 24
8. Pilot Interview Questions .................................................................................................................. 26
9. Annexures - Instore Pictures ............................................................................................................. 27
 Table of Figures

Figure 1 : Some Trekking Products available in India ............................................................................ 8

Figure 2 : Perceptual Map in the Hiking segment ................................................................................ 14
Figure 3 : Mini Terrain ......................................................................................................................... 27
Figure 4 : Skating Track ....................................................................................................................... 27
Figure 5 : Football Turf......................................................................................................................... 28
Figure 6 : Board for comparing inhouse products ................................................................................ 28
Figure 7 : Suggested Rack Design ........................................................................................................ 29
Figure 8 : Hiking Checklist ................................................................................................................... 30
Figure 9 : Focus on Customer Satisfaction ........................................................................................... 31

Table of Tables

Table 1: Strength and Weakness Analysis of competitors .................................................................... 10

Table 2 : Target Customers ................................................................................................................... 13
Table 3 : Product Mix of Quechua ........................................................................................................ 15
1. Executive Summary

Decathlon is a sports goods retailer headquartered in France. It was originally a

wholesaler in the Indian market, and subsequently turned into retailer as one amongst the first
foreign companies to receive 100% FDI [1], attributed to a retail FDI policy change in 2013.
Decathlon is renowned as a one stop solution for all sports equipment requirements through
its huge speciality stores. Quechua, one of the 20 passion brands under Decathlon, caters to
mountain sports equipment. Quechua and Decathlon as a whole are known for their
innovation and quality of their products.
India is not culturally oriented to adventure sports like hiking, trekking etc. and thus
poses a challenge for Quechua to create a need for the variety of products it has to offer.
However, there have been promising changes regarding cultural orientations of the country in
the recent years. There has been an increase in awareness about fitness all around and a new
category of young population who are interested in adventure experiences has emerged.
Thus, customer awareness about mountain/adventure sports and competition from
established brands in select revenue churning products (shoes, backpacks etc) are the twin
hurdles Quechua has to overcome in order to establish itself as the leading provider of hiking
and trekking equipment in India and increase its revenues.
We have devised a marketing plan on these lines to help Quechua expand and capture
a higher market share in this segment.

2. Situation Analysis

Decathlon being a comparatively new and not so established brand in the Indian
Market, the brand awareness is low. But its products are well received and marketing is the to
brand development and growth. The following analysis was done to examine internal and
external forces that affect the daily operations of the company.

2.1 Company

Decathlon is French multi-speciality sports equipment company based in Lille,

France. It was set up in 1976. It is the parent body and owner of 20 passion brands which
cater to different sports and adventure categories [1].
Vision of Decathlon:
The vision of decathlon is to make sporting equipment available and affordable to
everyone [1]. They aim to do this by providing a wide range of equipment (covered by the 20
passion brands), at the lowest of prices (through R&D and cost-efficient manufacturing
processes) with a focus on innovation and sustainable development, without compromising
on quality.
 Quechua is one of the 20 brands, catering to provision of hiking sports equipment. It
was created in 1997 and is headquartered at the base of Mont Blanc. Quechua’s products
were made available in all decathlon stores from 1998 [1].Quechua’s international catalogue
includes products for hiking, skiing, camping, mountain trail and snow shoe hiking. Some of
the products available in India are shown below.

Arpenaz 10 L Day Solid Men’s Arpenaz 100 Mid

Hiking Backpack raincoat

Forclaz 500 Plastic Hiking Hiking T-shirt

Fleece hiking Water bottle
jacket

Figure 1 : Some Trekking Products available in India

(Source: Decathlon website)

2.2 Customers

Hiking and trekking have not been traditionally popular adventure sports among the
Indian masses. To a large extent it remains a niche market. With the help of social media and
increased information, hiking and trekking is slowly making inroads in India. This coupled
with an aggregate increase in the economic status of the middle-class Indians is helping
trekking grow in potential future market in India. Customers in India are only aware of
Decathlon as a parent brand, and not Quechua individually (Source:Survey).

Target audience 1: Students and Young Professionals

One kind of target audience for Quechua in India currently are college going students and
young professionals (who have just started to earn) who are looking for hiking/trekking shoes
and jackets which are low on cost. These are the people who have just become independent
and are willing to spend on travelling and adventure sports once in a while. These people
prefer buying products at the speciality stores or through online means.
Target audience 2: 40+ Customers
Another set of target audience for Quechua are people above 40 years of age who are have
become exercise and fitness oriented, and are willing to explore new forms of recreation such
as hiking/ trekking (aspirational needs to be associated with the young generation). This again
maybe only a few people.
Another kind of audience in the same age group are people who come to Decathlon for the
range of products it offers, across all its passion brands, and for the complete shopping
experience Decathlon offers, right from large parking spaces to huge spaces inside the store.
People in this kind generally buy goods based on impulse.

2.3 Collaborators

Distributors and suppliers – Decathlon has its own fleet of distributors and suppliers. They
do not sell their products in other retail stores. They have stores located strategically at 6
parts in the city of Bangalore. Each store takes care of a nest which means it covers all
organisation (such as schools, colleges, MNCs, apartments) within a particular boundary and
takes care of promotions and sales.
Alliances or groups with shared interests –
Trekking organisations team up with Decathlon to conduct workshops at Decathlon stores1.
This way the organisations get visibility and in return, the customers of Decathlon can be
educated about the right product for their use. This ensures that people know the difference
between the types of shoes, that Decathlon cares for its customers by helping them choose the
right product. Right product increases customer satisfaction and customer retention.
Decathlon partners with schools, colleges and apartments – Decathlon brings in awareness
about the importance of sports in today’s busy life. People suffer from lifestyle disorders. So,
Decathlon fulfils its goal of sports for everyone by conducting and/or sponsoring events and
encourages people to take up trekking as an adventure sport2. This way schools, colleges get
better athletes. In return decathlon gifts goodies with its brand name and logo on it which
ensures brand visibility and recognition. It also makes sure people experience the product
first hand.

1
Decathlon has partnered with Bangalore Trekking Group that conduct trekking workshop in the Bannerghatta
branch every Sunday
2
Decathlon sponsored IIM Bangalore's cultural event Aarambh 2017 as a prime sponsor.
 2.4 Competitors

Brand Strengths Weaknesses

Wildcraft  First entrant advantage (It was
relaunched in India in 2003) [2]
 Brand recognition Has wide range of
goods designed especially for trekking
 Trust because Wildcraft owners/
founders themselves have a great
passion for trekking
 Consistent sales growth from INR 250
Cr in 2015 and 300 Cr. in 2016 [2]
 Focuses on a very small segment,
cannot switch to other sports
segments if this fails
 Relatively small market outside
India
 New player in footwear and
clothing products
 High Brand Switching in this
segment which means hard to
keep a loyal fan base


Adidas Strong brand recognition via celebrity
endorsements and sponsoring world
organisations (like FIFA) [3]
 International presence
 Legacy and Heritage
 Diversified Portfolio [3]
 Strong financial position [3]
Woodland  Strongly perceived as an outdoor and
adventure brand with very durable
products [4]
 Excellent advertising and brand
building
 Focus on innovation for rugged and
sturdier products [4]
 Highly priced caters to the
premium segment
 Does not contain all accessories
related to trekking at one place
 High brand switching
 Perceived as an expensive and
premium brand
 Focuses exclusively on shoes and
has limited accessories

Table 1: Strength and Weakness Analysis of competitors

2.5 Context

Trekking and hiking industry is a very small segment. The total number of people
participating in adventure activities is roughly 30 lakhs. While trekking and hiking together
account for only 5.5 lakh participants (this could include repeat participants) [5]
Political and legal – The rolling out of GST on July 1st has significantly affected the
sportswear industry. Sports manufacturers used to pay 2% excise duty since 2011. Now they
have to pay about 12-28% based on the category which they fall into. Since Quechua caters
to every apparel possible they now have to bear the burden of this excess tax [6]. Policies like
make in India and start-up India deter foreign players like Decathlon. But there are factors
like employment opportunities. This can be seen, as Decathlon employs about 78000 people
across 38 countries [7].
Economical – Trekking and hiking is a niche market in India [5]. Increasing price of
products would deter people from taking up the sport entirely, thus decreasing the market for
the industry. Regular trekkers are willing to pay higher prices for best in class quality but
amateurs would prefer entry to the segment only if prices are lower or at par with another
sports equipment [8]. Decathlon with its deep pockets can tackle any problems which can
come its way in emerging markets such as India [7].
Technological – Growth of e-commerce and m-commerce has increased the reach of sports
goods [6]. Decathlon uses social media platforms instead of advertisement for promotions.
The sportswear industry needs highly sophisticated equipment, even a 0.5% improvement can
lead to significant advantage [8]. This is important for professional trekkers and hikers - they
need the performance and durability of the products. This allows trekking associations to
leverage the technology to cater to customers who are willing to take up trekking as a sport.
Socio-cultural – The world is becoming a more health conscious place, thus there is an
increased growth in sports equipment in general (about 15-20%) [9]. More and more people
are looking for adventure and sports to keep their minds off in times of distress.
Natural Environment – The products, after their useful life, must not harm the environment
when discarded. The manufacturing process should not affect the environment. There must be
a mechanism to take back worn out shoes and possibilities of recycling or safe disposal must
be practised in era where we speak of climate change accord. There is a need for Corporate
Social responsibility from firms to take care of the society and the environment.

3. Marketing Strategy

The key to Marketing strategy is to change the perception as a low priced brand and
communicate to people about what decathlon truly does- 'innovation'

3.1 Mission

The homepage of Decathlon website reads as follows:

“Decathlon, a network of innovative retail chain and brands providing enjoyment for
all sports people. At Decathlon, 70,000 of us live our common purpose on a daily basis: “to
make the pleasure and benefits of sport accessible to all”. In every country where we are
present, we share a strong and unique company culture, reinforced by our two values:
Vitality and Responsibility.
At Decathlon, we place Innovation at the heart of our activities: from research to
retail, including design, production and logistics. Our 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.” [1]
3.2 Marketing Objectives

 Focus on changing perception of customers from a low-priced brand to an innovation

focussed brand.
 Increase expenditure on marketing to enter other channels of marketing apart from
existing social media marketing
 Achieve a steady increase in market penetration

3.3 Business Objectives

Decathlon does not use sales target as its parameter for growth. They do need revenue but
they believe Customer Satisfaction is of paramount importance which in turn would
increase sales revenue. So, their objective is to reach a daily target of 100% customer
satisfaction consistently.

3.4 Target Markets

Based on the segmentation of the population done with the help of descriptive and
behavioural characteristics, we have identified 3 target segments. Decathlon is already
targeting the first 2 segments.

Target-1 Target-2 Target-3

Age: 16-29 years YOUTH Age: 40+ years MEN Age: 40+ years WOMEN

Geographic: Geographic: Geographic:

Cities near hill stations like Metro Cities with fitness Metro Cities with fitness
Mumbai, Bangalore and North enthusiastic people like Mumbai, enthusiastic people like Mumbai,
Indian cities Bangalore and Delhi etc. Bangalore and Delhi etc.

Usage: Usage: Usage:

Multipurpose for trekking and Normal Sports usage and focus Normal Sports usage and focus
sports activities. on hiking and jogging on hiking and jogging

Occupation: Occupation: Occupation:

Working professionals and Working professionals-sports Working professionals &
students. enthusiasts housewives

Price range: Price range: Price range:

INR 1000-3000 for shoes INR 2000-4500 for shoes INR 2000-4500 for shoes
INR 1500-4000 for apparel INR 2000-4000 for apparel INR 2000-4000 for apparel

Variants: Variants: Variants:

Trekking and sports wear Sports wear and Sprint Sprint wear

Table 2 : Target Customers

3.5 Positioning

After identifying competition from Industry point of view and Market point of view, we got
to know that the market share of Decathlon is less inspite of satisfied customer reviews. The
major reason attributable for this cause is less brand awareness and visibility. After analyzing
the competitors in the market serving similar target groups we came up the following POPs
and PODs:
i. Points of Parity
 Superior Quality
 Durable and sturdy
 Easy to carry
 Light weight
 Quick drying
 Online availability
ii. Points of Difference
 One stop retail store for all
products
 Low cost
 High variety
 Attractive design
Based on the following POPs and PODs the competitors in this segment can be placed as
follows:

Figure 2 : Perceptual Map in the Hiking segment

We can infer that Quechua should move up to become more established brand but it
has already captured the quality of high value for money for Demand 1. Quechua being sub
brand of Decathlon can use the brand name to get near Demand 2. The Demand 3 that we
have identified from the survey that Quechua can cater to is Middle Aged Women who have
become health conscious and enjoy morning walk and occasionally go on Treks to explore
new places. This audience is specifically looking at very well-established brand even if they
have to compromise a bit on premium price. Quechua can leverage brand name of Decathlon
to fulfil this demand by becoming a more established brand.

4. Marketing Tactics

The major objective of the marketing program is to position Quechua and Decathlon from an
Inexpensive brand to an Innovative product brand, to boost sales and increase loyal customer
base. The Marketing plan is composed of the following 4P & 7P factors that influence
customers to purchase their product or use their service respectively.

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4.1 Product

 Variety : Quechua offers a wide range of products. These products cater to all types of
customers (men, women and children) and are available in a wide range of prices
(low, medium and premium).Here is a list of the products:
Clothing Jackets Soft shells T-Shirts Shorts Gloves Hats

Footwear Hiking Socks Sandals Plaids Snow Trek

shoes Boots boots
Backpacks Daily Use Long Carry Bags Children’s Poles Hiking
Distance Bags Bags
Tents 2-3 4-8 people Sleeping Shelter Mattress Hiking
people bags tent
Accessories Bottles Cooler Cook set Hygiene Air Pump Cutlery
boxes
Camping Tables Arm chairs Sheets & Hiking Hamac Bags
Equipment pillows mattress

Table 3 : Product Mix of Quechua

 Quality: They test their products to guarantee customers the highest quality. The
products are durable and ooze premium quality.
 Design and features: Quechua specialises and differentiates itself from its competitors
in terms of innovation and design. The products are designed by the very hikers and
trekkers who have experienced the nuances of hiking and trekking and understand the
intricacies. They come up with “to the point” innovations to ease the difficulties faced
by any general hiker or trekker. Along with innovation in features, the products are
also designed to look appealing to the eye and depict style.
 Brand name: Quechua is a sub brand of Decathlon, which is spread across 80 different
nations with employee strength of 78000 and annual revenue of 10 billion euros.
Quechua has quite a brand name for itself in Europe and other parts of the world
where hiking and trekking is common. In India, people generally associate with
Decathlon and are not aware of Quechua as a different entity.
 Packaging and sizes: Packaging is done efficiently. The products have a good range of
sizes to serve for people of various builds.
 Services, Warranties and Returns: 2 years’ service warranty provided for most goods
where as its competitors provide warranties of only up to 3 months on an average
(11).

Strategies and Tactics:

i. Bundling of products: Today, Quechua produces an exhaustive range of items, most
of which are not in the needs list of Indian consumers. This is due to the lack of the
culture of adventure sports in India. Hence as of today, Quechua’s products follow the
5-40 rule, i.e., 5 percent of products generate 40 percent of revenue. These products
include backpacks, hiking shoes and floaters, water bottles etc. One method that can
be suggested to improve the sale of the rest is the bundling of products. If all products

Page | 15
 related to one adventure event (for example monsoon hiking) are bundled and sold
together, consumers would have more affinity to buy them. We are making the job
easier for customers by providing them the exhaustive combination of items, without
them having to break a sweat.
ii. Changing Product Names: Product naming has to be changed in such a way that it
conveys the features of the product. For example, “Quechua Shoes HK” would show
that the shoes are in the Hiking range. This would create customer awareness
regarding the utility of the product.

4.2 Price

 List Price: Quechua has its own design, production and distribution team all over the
world. This allows them to sell their products at lower prices as compared to their
competitors. There are product lines for every category where products of different
price ranges are offered.The basic model of every product line is offered at a technical
price (least price in that category).
 Discounts: Since Decathlon has its own distribution channels, it does not offer any
temporary promotions or discounts. Whereas, season clearance discounts are provided
to clear their collections.
 Allowances, Payment period and credit terms: Payment is to be made at the store
through cash or cards.

Quechua follows the value pricing strategy for its products. Each product in
the product line is priced according to the sophistication in design and innovation.
Through this strategy they are able to charge lower prices for products of the same
quality as that of their competitors.
Strategies and Tactics:
i. Product Bundling Pricing:Going in line with the suggestion given under the product
category, if products are offered as exhaustive bundles or selective (mixed) bundles at
appropriate prices lower than the net cost of all the products individually, it would
create more value in the minds of the customers. This is especially an effective
strategy as customer response for most of the products (other than the “5-40s”) in the
catalogue is low. Quechua can improve sales of the rest of the products through this
method.

4.3 Place

 Channels: Products are sold at speciality stores which are huge in area. These
speciality stores are more like godowns and offer the customers a unique shopping
experience. In the store at Bannerghatta road, of all the brands at display, Quechua
holds a decent space right in the middle. Decathlon also has online presence in India
through its own website and has a deal with Snapdeal (12). Work needs to be done on
the online front as only 0.8% sales are done through the online platform
(Bannerghatta Store). Decathlon does not collaborate with second parties for

Page | 16
 distributions and has its own distribution channels. Thus, it does not need to offer
promotion discounts.
 Coverage and locations: A total of 7 speciality stores are located in Bangalore to cater
to different areas of the city.

Strategies and Tactics:

i. Online sales account for only a meagre 0.8%. Decathlon should utilise this space as e-
commerce is on rapid rise today. Along with their own online website, they need to tie
up with an e-commerce giant like Amazon (Snapdeal is not big enough) to gain access
to its increasing number of customers.
This collaboration would add another dimension to their sales and help gather more
revenues.
ii. Tie ups: Like most of its competitors, Quechua can tie up with speciality stores like
Reliance Footprints, Bata etc. Quechua can tie up with Adventure Sports clubs across
the city to sell their products to the clubs’ customers at their offices/stores.

4.4 Promotion

 Sales Promotion and sales force: Every store in the city has its coverage area. The
stores carry out activities in apartments, schools and other institutions within these
areas and offer promotional goodies to create brand awareness.
 Advertising: Decathlon does not spend much on advertising as they follow the
philosophy of advertising through word of mouth.
 Direct marketing: Decathlon rents its own speciality stores and practices direct
marketing. It had a business to business model before where it used to sell its products
to resellers. Now it has opted a business to customer model in the offline space.
Strategies and Tactics:
The underlying theme of creating strategies for promotion is to change the consumer
perception of Decathlon as producing inexpensive products to a company which excels in
innovation.
i. Brand Ambassador : Endorsements through celebrities who are keen on adventure
activities like John Abraham, Vidyut Jamwal etc. would give a lift to the brand
perception.
ii. Social media influencing is the new trend of promotions. Its effectiveness is
increasing at a fast pace (13). Quechua can rope in a bunch of social media
influencers in India along with celebrities who post in sites like Instagram,
Snapchat and Facebook.
iii. Creation of need : In order to promote brand awareness, Decathlon has to first
create the need for hiking and trekking equipment, through events etc. At present
trekking and hiking segment contributes to 20% of sales of Decathlon. By
conducting workshops, sponsoring events around trekking and hiking, they can
involve more people in the buying process.

Page | 17
 iv. Sponsorship : Adventure sports competitions like Paragliding etc, in order to gain
brand name amongst the professional adventure enthusiasts who are major
influencers in the form of representation in adventure agencies.

These are people who aren’t as lured by brand name as they are for the quality and
innovation of products. Hence this would be a good method to promote the
excellence in innovation and design of the brand.

4.5 Physical Evidence

 Landscape : The store has a building and external appearance similar to the Metro
cash & carry wholesale stores in Bangalore which gives an impression that it has all
goods but at the same time at a lower price. They have ample parking space for both
two wheelers and four wheelers. The signage in and around the building is clear and
distinct. They have a basketball court for sports enthusiasts to have a place to play.
This is a form of letting outsiders and strangers to know that this place has something
to do with sports.
The place guarantees you a wholesome shopping experience as it covers around 2000
sq. m. [10]. The store relies on experience based shopping. Therefore, there is enough
space for trying out the equipments. Hiking and camping contributes to 20% of the
sales of Decathlon. It occupies the most ground space. There are about three sections
meant only for hiking and camping products dominated by Quechua products.
 Store facilities : Trial rooms (more than 10- ensuring less waiting time) for trying out
clothes and other sports gears. In the Quechua part of the store, they have built mini
terrains as shown in the fig. 3 to simulate experience of a trek while trying shoes.
They have tracks for skating(fig. 4), cycling, turf to simulate football experience
while using a football and football shoes (fig. 5). This also excites kids who use them
and do not want to leave home until those products are bought .
 Interiors : The place is brightly lit but with no background music. There is enough
space within segments for people to move comfortably without disturbing others.
 Product arrangement : The products are arranged in such a way that within a
particular department a wide variety is available in all colours, sizes and shapes. The
pricing at the entrance of each section displays technical product price which is low to
attract customers to enter the segment and have a look at the products.
The racks have vertical blue dividing markers to show the end of a product line and
start of the next line to ensure employees don’t stack too much or less of a particular
line of product. Each segment has a board as shown in the fig. 6. which provides
information to the customer in choosing the right product suited to their needs. They
have so many products that they cannot place all the products in the store. So, each
segment has a book containing information of products which are not available in the
store but can be procured on request. This is done mainly for premium products to
reduce inventory cost. The tents are laid out so one can have a fair idea about how
many people can fit in.
 Signboards : The symbols of sports are generally printed along with the Decathlon
logo as shown in the image. The store is located in the first floor and the stairs are
labelled with names of sports symbolising the wide range of products available at the
store. As we enter the Quechua segment, we see the prices gradually increasing from
INR 400 to 3000 in the clothing segment, INR 999 to 6999 in shoes segment and so

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 on for other products. So bright flashy boards are displayed to show these technical
prices. There are posters which informs customers about the available trekking
locations in India. They have posters showing the products needed for a trek which
serves as a checklist. This can be seen in fig. 7. Employees have a unique dress code.
All they need to do is wear bibs over their clothes. This gives a feeling of talking to a
sports person (trustworthy source) while talking to an employee for suggestions
related to the product.
Strategy and Tactics:
i. Reorientation of store - The hiking segment in itself has a lot of departments – one
each for shoes, tents, shirts and pants, accessories. The store can be reoriented in such
a way that all products related to trekking can be kept in just one department. It can be
divided in terms of gender such that as one enters into a department and looks around
every single item related to trekking is available in that department itself. This is
basically improvising on the existing model. The customer just needs to turn around
within one department to satisfy all their needs. The department can otherwise be
divided in terms of seasons. Because the same apparel might not be suitable for treks
of different terrains and seasons. The same apparel can’t be used for very hot climates
and for sub-zero temperatures. Quechua has very innovative products but no aspect of
the store shows it is so. A separate department for latest products or flagship products
can be placed and brand image can be built by showcasing and promoting these high
quality highly innovative products.
ii. Posters- People do not know that Quechua has very innovative products. There must
be posters explaining the product features. Hiking segment has gloves from Simond
with various features. It can be stabbed with a knife but you cannot rip it open. The
inner material of gloves is such that it would not wear our or burn when rope slides
through your hand in steep treks. It also has material which can reflect light such that
you can reflect torch light using the gloves at night to give signals. It is completely
waterproof and can be comfortably worn in temperatures of -20 C. When we cannot
communicate what we have people won’t know we have such products. So, posters
explaining the features of such flagship products will help in sales of other products as
well. This is because people perceive the entire brand to be innovation focussed.
This way we can even price the products higher because people would believe that the
product is loaded with so many features which other brands do not offer. When you
know one product can cover so many features and is compact, it is value for money.
Slowly the entire brand can move towards the premium segment.
iii. Building appearance and interior designing- The building needs to be remodelled in
such a way that it looks premium and not like a wholesale outlet. This is because
people cannot perceive products as both of high innovation/quality and low price at
the same time. When you enter a Wildcraft or Nike store, you immediately feel that
the place is stylish, trendy and of good quality. So interior can be redesigned such that
the place looks premium. Our focus is to show the store is innovative, so the interior
designing can focus on this aspect.
The racks can be modified to look innovative, fresh and of high quality instead of the
current simple design. The products are placed way too close together, they can be
spaced a little wider.
iv. Overall Experience- The place uses fans, can be changed to ACs. Background music
can be played to enrich the whole experience. The lighting system can be changed,
different coloured lights can be used, flagship product segment can have spotlight like
lights to throw emphasis on the product. There are no chairs or any other

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 arrangements for people to rest in the store. There is only basic arrangement for chairs
which one uses to sit down and change their shoes. So, if some arrangements are
provided entire family can come down to shop and while some are shopping others
can take rest.
Basically, the entire interior designing needs to be worked upon if we are trying to
move our product towards our target of portraying Quechua as an innovative brand.
Some samples of existing design and suggested design are included in fig. 8.

4.6 Processes

Electronic sales system with barcode scanning is involved to reduce checkout time.
There are about 5 computer systems to handle the payment and checkout process.
There is a booklet available in the store having QR codes to scan and learn about the
products and save it for future reference. They have a system called click and collect where
one can order the products by scanning the QR codes. If they do not like the product they can
return the product without any issues.
The support team is always ready to solve your queries and tries to keep the process
hassle free when it comes to claiming warranty.
The customers are requested to rate the process (from entry to purchase) at the end of
their purchase which allows the staff to gather real time data. They ask the customers for
feedback (face to face) to improve the purchase process.
This ensures that the process caters comfortably to a wide range of audience to
improve sales. If process is convenient more and more customers would come to buy, thus
enabling loyalty and customer retention. The live feedback mechanism allows the staff to get
directly to the specific issue and address it efficiently (so we have a very accurate feedback
mechanism).

Strategy and tactics

i. Membership cards- Membership cards can be provided to customers, where they can
swipe their card once at the start to show all the data instead of typing down phone
numbers and other similar data during each purchase. Bonus points for every purchase
can attract customers.
ii. Payment- For regular buyers the membership cards can also be used as a mode of
payment by depositing cash into the account. Also, other modes of payment like
Paytm and other e wallets can be used to make payments quicker. This would be
especially useful for small purchases for quick checkouts especially in India, where
weekends are very crowded and standing at the counter is cumbersome.

4.7 People

The employees need to have in depth knowledge to guide customers in buying the
right product to suit their needs. Having a knowledgeable staff who knows about the use of
all products is as important as having a wide range of products, otherwise the right product
may not reach the right customer leading to customer dissatisfaction and loss of customers.

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 So, a good product and good customer service is crucial. While selling the product,
there is a lot of face to face interaction between the store employees and customers.
Decathlon has a very efficient recruitment process. It recruits only sports enthusiasts. Also,
they recruit only hikers and trekkers for Quechua department. This reduces training time and
who better to explain your product than the ones who have used similar products all their life.
These recruits are not allowed to work in other departments and work only in that specific
department.
Decathlon encourages employees to go on hiking, trekking on a regular basis to know
what more can be improved in their products. They are allowed to use Quechua products
from the store to be used while they are pursuing the activities. This way they can get first-
hand experience of the products and they can suggest improvements. This way employees get
in depth knowledge of their activities and that too in their field of interest. This serves dual
purpose- 1) the employee is happy because he is doing what he likes and is given the power
to suggest recommendations 2) the customers are getting expert opinion and by choosing the
right product they have a long lasting, good impression about the brand.
They have 9 staffs in Quechua department. A maximum of two employees can take a day off
on weekdays but none of them are encouraged to take leaves on weekends and holidays since
these are peak sales days and you don’t want to damage customer experience due to
understaffing.
In Decathlon, the employees don’t have any sales target. Their target is to reach maximum
customer satisfaction(fig. 9). Their objective is to make the entire purchase process a happy
and hassle-free experience. Their incentives are based on how well they are able to satisfy
their customers. So, there is a system as discussed earlier wherein at the end of purchase
customers rate their purchase experience and instant feedback is received. This way all the
employees across all departments are working towards one goal- to keep the customers happy
and encourage more people to take up sports.

Strategies and tactics

There system for staff training and employee satisfaction is very efficient. A system has to be
included to remind staffs to restock products as and when the products from the racks are
being sold. Penalties can be included to avoid such instances of having empty racks. We have
already discussed the incentives for reaching maximum customer satisfaction.

5. Financials
 Currently Decathlon, Bannerghatta Road, earns a revenue of Rs. 1 Cr per month, and
Quechua contributes to 20% of the sales.
 The rent paid for the store is around Rs. 30 lakhs.
 The Gross margin for the store is around 27% (approximate) and the Net margin is
around 8% (approximate).

6. Controls
Decathlon focuses on customer satisfaction more than absolute revenue generation, as
they believe customer satisfaction would eventually drive the revenues.

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 The sales persons at the stores are given objectives of improving the Satisfied
Customer Family (SCF), which is the index to measure the percentage of happy and
satisfied customers. The salesforce is given incentives on this measure.
 Although revenue targets are communicated to the salesforce, they are not penalised
upon not meeting the targets as the main deliverables of the salesforce is to provide
customer satisfaction by providing information regarding products and clarifying
doubts.

Page | 22
Bibliography

[1] [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decathlon_Group.

[2] [Online]. Available: http://corporate.decathlon.com/.

[3] [Online]. Available: ] http://www.forbesindia.com/article/work-in-progress/wildcraft-the-

backpackers-with-sales-worth-rs-300-crore/43735/1.

[4] [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adidas.

[5] [Online]. Available: http://www.woodlandworldwide.com/wnew/faces/fe/jsps/aboutUs.jsp .

[6] [Online]. Available:

http://tourism.gov.in/sites/default/files/Other/Adventure_Tourism_Final_Report_revise_on_
26-10-2016%282%29.PDF.

[7] [Online]. Available: http://indianexpress.com/article/sports/sport-others/gst-rollout-sports-

equipment-tickets-for-sporting-events-to-get-expensive-4730722/.

[8] [Online]. Available: http://www.fitnesseducation.edu.au/blog/industry-trends/technology-in-

sports-clothing-do-we-really-need-it/.

[9] [Online]. Available: http://www.icrier.org/pdf/Sports%20Report%20Presentation.pdf.

[10] [Online]. Available: www.livemint.com › Leisure › Lounge.

[11] [Online]. Available: https://www.decathlon.in/c/78-decathlon-sports-india-guarantee.

[12] [Online]. Available: 2. http://www.ibtimes.co.in/decathlon-sportswear-equipments-now-

available-snapdeal-671148.

[13] [Online]. Available: 3. https://www.forbes.com/sites/ajagrawal/2016/12/27/why-influencer-

marketing-will-explode-in-2017/.

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7. Decathlon Market Survey

1. Gender
A) Female
B) Male

2. Age group
A) 16-22 years
B) 23-27 years
C) 28-35 years
D) 36-45 years
E) 45+ years

3. Monthly Salary Range

A) Less than INR 20,000
B) INR 20,000 to 50,000
C) INR 50,000 to 1,00,000
D) INR 1,00,000 to 2,00,000

4. How often do you go hiking/trekking?

A) Every week
B) Once a month
C) Once in 6 months
D) Rarely
E) Never

5. What type of apparel do you use for hiking/trekking?

A) Regular Wear
B) Sports Wear
C) Hiking/trekking specific clothing

6. How much are you willing to pay for jackets/ wind cheaters?
A) Lesser than INR 1500
B) INR 1500 to 3000
C) INR 3000 to 5000
D) Greater than INR 5000

7. What is your most preferable mode of purchase?

A) Online

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B) Retail speciality outlet
C) Multi brand outlet

8. How much would you pay for a shoe specifically made for hiking/trekking?
A) Lesser than INR 1000
B) INR 1000 to 2000
C) INR 2000 to 3000
D) INR 3000 to 5000
E) Greater than INR 5000

9. Have you heard about Decathlon?

A) Yes
B) No

10. Have you heard about the brand Quechua? If so, how?
A) Friends, family, etc
B) Weekly magazines
C) Sports magazines
D) Events magazines
E) Promotions
F) Never heard of it

11. Tick the boxes in each row for the appropriate brands:

Wildcraft Quechua Adidas Puma Woodland

Value for
money
Range of
products
Quality
Brand name

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8. Pilot Interview Questions

What factors led you to go to Decathlon?

Can you tell the difference between Decathlon and Quechua?

Do you buy products keeping their use in mind or do you buy by impulse?

How often do you go for trekking?

What all do you look at while buying a product for trekking?

Which brand are you currently using?

Why choose Decathlon over Wildcraft?

How much would you rate Quechua while comparing it with Wildcraft, Woodland, Adidas.

Price, quality, range of products, value for money, brand recognition

Would you switch to a new product if they offered better 1)price 2)quality

Would you recommend Decathlon to others?

How is the customer service at Decathlon?

How would you describe the Decathlon experience?

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9. Annexures - Instore Pictures

Figure 3 : Mini Terrain

Figure 4 : Skating Track

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 Figure 5 : Football Turf

Figure 6 : Board for comparing inhouse products

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Figure 7 : Suggested Rack Design

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Figure 8 : Hiking Checklist

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Figure 9 : Focus on Customer Satisfaction

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