Product Management CEC II

By – Saikrishhna Gannavaram
Section – C
Enrolment Number – 19BSP3767
Date – 14/07/2020

Q: Why Decathlon Sports India is today reportedly

India’s largest single brand retailer, behind Chinese
electronics major Xiaomi, generating more revenue
than Adidas, Nike, and Puma put together?

A:
 Decathlon is one brand that has become
synonymous with sports in India in the last few
years. The growth of the French sporting goods
retailer has been unrivalled in the last seven years,
ever since it turned to a single-brand retailer in
2013 from a wholesale company.

 With the FY 2018 ending with revenue of 1,278

Crores, Decathlon not only overtook Nike and
Adidas in the sports retailing market but also
became the second-biggest single-brand-retailer in
India after Chinese electronics giant Xiaomi.

 The biggest move Decathlon ever made was to

understand the pulse of the Indian market and make
decisions accordingly. In a country obsessed with
cricket in general, Decathlon managed to tap into
the needs of people interested in other sports and
outdoor activities. They provided sports gear from
multiple sports other than just cricket and football
and that too at 30-40% lower prices when
compared to its competitors. Decathlon did sell
gear related to Cricket and Football but focussed
more on other sports like Badminton, Volleyball,
Skating, Cycling, Mountaineering and much more.
 Decathlon tapped into categories that no other
sports brand even dared to think of

 With innumerable sports programs every year, it

has made an interactive link with the youth of the
county, thus generating a trustworthy image in
India.

 Decathlon is a company that sells its own brands

and thus gets higher operating margins. With
private labels, it has almost everything from design
and manufacturing to sales under its own control,
enabling itself to reduce the costing wherever
possible.
 This allows Decathlon to sell their quality products
at a lower price than its competitors do. The
biggest factor that benefitted the company is that
they sell products from 70 different sporting
disciplines, which no other brand in the world does.

 Another key business idea Decathlon implemented

is to open some of its stores in struggling malls to
avoid high rentals. All these factors have helped the
company connect to the Indian market on a level
that no other sports brand has managed.
 Why decathlon is the best thing that happened to
the sports community of India?

- Affordability:

- Decathlon supplies the most affordable goods in the

market. From Sports drinks to Tents, everything is
available at a reasonable price.

- Moreover, there are different price ranges of same

product lines which make it convenient to even the
thinnest budgeted buyers.

- Availability and reach:

- As mentioned earlier, Decathlon Sports India has over

50 stores spread across India. A store in every major
city. They also supply their products through their
online portal Decathlon.in.

- Decathlon promises 50 sports and over 5000 products

to the consumers.
- Suitability:

- Decathlon has a in house production and R&D team

which themselves try and design products according to
the specific needs of their users.

- From shoes for office to the most uneven terrains, they

have it all.

- Best in class service:

- Service provided by decathlon is no match by retailers

within Indian subcontinent. Decathlon gives two-year
warranty and 90 days exchange period for all its
products.

- All the employees are well versed with their

respective sports and give honest advises to the users.
They are known to sell products according to the users
need rather than the store’s economic goals.
-

Summary
 Decathlon prides in selling through its 70 large,
warehouse-like stores at prices about 30-40% lower
than the competing products. The brand sells
everything from running shoes to mountaineering
equipment under its own brands. This also helps
the retailer earn higher operating margins.

 Decathlon uses a combination of in-house

manufacturing and outsourcing to stock its shelves
and by selling only private labels, it controls almost
every bit of operations, from pricing and design to
distribution and keeps its costs and selling prices
low.

 This operating model has worked both globally and

in India. Here, the company sells more than 500
products catering to 70 sporting disciplines.