DECATHLON

SPORT FOR ALL - ALL FOR SPORT

DECATHLON'S HISTORY
Decathlon was founded in 1976 in Lille, France. Decathlon UK has launched in 1999 with their first
store in Surrey Quays. Currently they have 44 stores around the UK, where you can get experts advice
and have a seamless shopping experience. Globally, they are present in 46 countries and have the
ambition to open stores in more new countries in order to be present everywhere. What makes them
unique is that they have their own Brands. They create, design and manufacture their own products.
Currently they have 20 Decathlon Brands, each dedicated to a specific sport.
OBJECTIVES
The objectives of Decathlon are:
1) To increase customer awareness of the brand.
2) Improve the company's market position by increasing its projection and thus making
customers relate Decathlon to sport.
MISSION
Decathlon's main mission is to make sport accessible to as many people as they can. They would like
to help, inspire and guide people through their sports experiences. The company believes that being
active and discovering new sports every day is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. Another key
component of Decathlon’s mission is “placing innovation at the heart of its activities”. And indeed,
unlike its main competitors, Decathlon have developed its own R&D department and manufactures its
strong sub-brands itself. This has allowed Decathlon to become a leader in innovative sport
equipment, with its new goods rewarded with design prizes.
VISION
In Decathlon, they have a vision to make sports more accessible to all. They work hard to allow sports
users to discover their products at the best price and quality mix possible. The company create a
unique sporting experience at their stores with their playground so that users can try before they buy.
The company’s vision is “to make the pleasure and benefits of sport accessible to all”. Decathlon
wants to change the world into a place where everybody has access to sport. Decathlon’s way to
achieve this democratization of sport is by offering products both at low price and a good quality, or,
in the company’s own words: “To develop technical, good-looking and simple products, always at the
lowest possible prices”. And indeed, Decathlon brand is renowned for the value for money of its
products.
VALUES
Vitality
Vitality is Life, intense activity, energy, drive and vigour. The employees of the company are full of
vitality as they have, first and foremost, a positive mindset and are extremely energetic. They are
enthusiastic, love creating and innovating, and relentlessly strive to improve and make things around
them change.
Responsibility
Being responsible is about making decisions and making sure they are acted upon. Their employees
are fully responsible for their decisions, both in terms of their team and their customers.
Responsibility is also about anticipating the challenges facing society and orienting the company’s
actions towards sustainable development. They believe that it is their responsibility to guarantee the
safety of their customers and employees all over the world.
FOCUS
Innovation
"AT DECATHLON, INNOVATION IS AT THE HEART OF OUR PROJECT"
This strategy has 2 main objectives:
1) “Innovate smart” because, first and foremost, they want to make sport easier for people who
use their products. They place the user at the heart of their approach and focus on usage
innovations. Listening to, and observing sports people in action, in their Research &
Development centre, in their laboratories, is how the sales assistants, product managers,
designers or engineers imagine the product of the future – the product that is more practical,
comfortable, enjoyable and safe for the user.
2) They also want to innovate for the benefit of everyone, in all product categories, not only at
the most expensive or sophisticated end. Their aim is to make their innovations accessible to a
maximum number of customers and users worldwide because their prices are as low as
possible.
Innovation is an important part of everything they do. They explore and research new products,
concepts and event ideas regularly to ensure sports experience is constantly improving.
Passionate Teammates
Their teammates are the engine of everything they do. The company invests in their people and
always co-build the future of Decathlon together. Everyone has their say in the strategy and project
ideas. They believe in the motto: "Happy employees, Happy Customers".
Green Planet
In Decathlon, they believe that preserving the planet is crucial for the future. They try to always work
towards green planet projects, such as: "100 green energy consumption by 2019"; "Recycle waste in
order to reach 0% landfill by 2019"; "100% freehold sites producing renewable energy with solar
panels by 2019".
BUSINESS-LEVEL STRATEGY
Decathlon is a cost leader. The low bargaining power of suppliers combined with its huge size as the
first sport retailer in France, allows Decathlon to have an important bargaining power and to drive
prices down. But Decathlon also differentiates by being the only French sport retailer to manufacture
revolutionizing products. Therefore, Decathlon is pursuing an integrated cost leadership strategy.
Decathlon is the firm that integrates low cost and high differentiation.
VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS
The first element of Decathlon’s value chain is R&D. Decathlon owns 20 different brands which they
sell in their stores. They do extensive research in France with these brands to develop the latest
innovative designs in sports. The next is supply chain management. Decathlon manages numerous
different products it produces as well as acquires from other sporting companies. The third element in
their value chain is distribution. The numerous products which they manage are distributed
throughout all their stores. The fourth element is marketing & sales. With all products now readily
available throughout Decathlon’s stores, they now focus on the marketing of their products and their
sales. Decathlon uses effective marketing and pricing strategies to maximize their possible sales.
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
Decathlon uses its cost–leadership strategy as a competitive advantage with the aim of offering its
customers quality products at the lowest possible price and this is achieved through the optimisation
of internal processes such as manufacture, logistics, design, etc. strategy and so increase product
consumption.
CORE COMPETENCIES
Cost leadership, along with decent quality is the core competency of this brand. Decathlon keeps its
prices around 20 percent lower than its competitors.
ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE
There is narrow span of control and a tall hierarchy in Decathlon organization structure. At the
company’s decision making process, they neither follow a centralized nor a decentralized system. It
can be considered between them because in most cases managers and employees can take the
initiative and act without taking any permission from the upper level. On the contrary, all the financial
situations and decisions such as company’s profit, are handled by the top managers.
KEY SUCCESS FACTORS
Products

 Large range of products/ adaptation to the local market

 Quality of products
 Research & Development Policy
Managerial Expertise

 Implementation (geographic implementation and high number of stores)

 Relationship with suppliers: strong partnerships with sub-contractors but bad relationship
with big brands
Marketing Know-How

 Communication & advertising policy

 Services and Customer Relations