Decathlon

About Decathlon

Decathlon is a French sporting goods retailer. With over 1400 stores in 45 countries, it is the largest sporting goods retailer in the world. Decathlon started with a store in Lille, France in 1976, founded by Michel Leclercq. The company employs more than 82,000 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 4,000m. Decathlon Group also owns over 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 a group of sports, with dedicated product development and design team.