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Barbara Santamaria
Published
Aug 3, 2016
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Decathlon pushes ahead with German expansion

By
DPA
Translated by
Barbara Santamaria
Published
Aug 3, 2016

French sportswear and equipment retailer Decathlon is expanding its operations in Germany. “In general, the German market is the most interesting in Europe, where we see the most potential,” says Ludger Niemann, spokesperson for the company’s German arm.

Decathlon zählt bereits heute zu den Schwergewichten der Branche.


From camping chairs for £7.99 to a windsurf board for £539.99, Decathlon offers mostly own-brand products but also items from international brands at 34 stores in Germany.

With a global turnover of 9.1 billion euros last year and over 1,000 stores worldwide, the apparel and sports equipment manufacturer is largely considered one of the industry heavyweights. However, the company will not disclose the financial numbers of its German business – not even the number of new stores it plans to open.

German retailers consider Decathlon’s business model “quite brutal”, according to Werner Haizmann, President of the Association of German Sports Retailers. “They lay their hands on everything”, says Haizmann. Years of effort from local retailers to protect themselves against the giant multinational companies have failed. “The sporting goods industry is highly competitive”, agrees Galeria Kaufhof spokesperson, Steffen Klein.

In 2017, four Decathlon stores are expected to open in Frankfurt, Wiesbaden, Heidelberg and Stuttgart, followed by further additions in undisclosed locations. The company is also expected to add new product categories to its stores.

Independent sporting goods businesses will find it hard to compete against this large-scale operation, but specialist retailers may benefit from the rise of new consumer trends, says Hansjürgen Heinick, Senior Consultant at IFH Köln.

Heinick estimates the value of the overall German sporting goods market to have reached 6.3 million euros in 2015. When hats, scarves, swimwear and lingerie are added to the mix, the market could be worth even more. With a 5.7% growth on the prior year, the German sporting goods market is also one of the fastest growing in the world.

This reflects an increasingly popular fashion trend, rather than a particularly notorious change in German lifestyle. According to Heinick, sports clothes and shoes are even becoming acceptable office attire.

German consumers still prefer apparel from well-known brands when doing sports, but when it comes to lifestyle wear, the name of the brand is less important. In this case, even value brands can take their share of the growing market.

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