Decathlon, new victims of the cali-covi-policy ?

The french sporting good creator has faced an unfortunate backlash in California. Between timing, California business challenge the brand revisited its omni-channel strategy

Decathlon brand could be seen as the European Uniqlo for sportwear. Offering affordable quality product, the brand won the family market by providing all the equipment for growing kids and aspiring sportif adults. Over time, the push to raise the quality was visible, and well known by golfers.

The French company in the sporting goods sector, has established itself as a global powerhouse with over two thousand stores spread across the globe. The company's success is built on an economic model, focused on providing a wide range of its own products at competitive prices.

Decathlon's promotes an inhouse management of research, design, production, logistics, and distribution.

This vertical integration allows the company, with an Apple like model, to control every step of its supply chain, controlling products quality and operations. In addition, Decathlon used to markets its own brands directly to consumers, further solidifying its market position.

Decathlon's motto to make sports accessible to all has resonated favorably with consumers worldwide, contributing to Decathlon's international growth and success. The company began its expansion in Europe, Asia and Americas:

In recent years, Decathlon has diversified its product range to include specialist brands and higher-end products. This effort aims at penetrating new markets and cater to a more diverse clientele.

Difficult West Coast expansion and Californian nightmare

Decathlon's attempt to expand its presence in California in 2019 encountered challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted global supply chains and consumer behavior. The timing of this expansion was unfortunate, as the pandemic led to a significant slowdown in retail activity and changed consumer shopping habits.

While the California market on sport good is quite saturated, Decathlon's initial attempt was not only challenged by the pandemic. The state politics and security challenges did not help the brand.

While the Californian locations are now closed, the inventory and number of references online does not give a positive signal neither.

However, Decathlon has adapted by using other distributors for its products to reach the California market. This strategy allows the company to leverage existing distribution networks and reach a broader customer base without the need to establish physical stores.

A large portion of Decathlon's production is carried out in China, which allows the company to significantly reduce its manufacturing costs. However, this reliance on Chinese production also has consequences for local employment in the countries where Decathlon is present. By outsourcing a large part of its production, Decathlon do not contribute to job opportunities in local manufacturing and production sectors, which can have a negative impact on local economies.

Decathlon's success around the world was expected to be replicated in the US. Unfortunately, the American dream did not apply to the french brand. In the meantime, the best option to get those frenchie sport good is to catch the deals on the US decathlon website while it last…

Maybe starting West Coast became the legacy way, and now south and east is the place to be…

Think encore !