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2019 restored hope for French sports chain Decathlon, after a disappointing 2018: turnover increased by 9 % to 12.4 billion euros. However, there is no mention of the profit (which had deteriorated enormously in 2018).
New retail strategy
For the last few years, the sports chain has been looking for a new retail strategy, investing in smaller city shops, new technology and acquisitions, among other things. The 9 % turnover growth may restore confidence in that new strategy.
However, the reorientation of the stores also disrupted sales figures, especially in the French home market, where the sports retailer saw its turnover growth decrease to 3 %, resulting in a turnover of 3.3 billion euros. The chain also blames the ‘yellow vests’ protests and points to the improvement compared to the 5 % turnover drop a year before.
“Corrected errors”
“Decathlon continues to grow by daring and innovating”, the company says in a press release. “Some mistakes have been corrected and the forward movement has been resumed. There still is a lot to do, but the horizon is clearing.” However, Decathlon provided no information about the profits. In 2018, the company saw its net profit decrease 19 % to 497 million euros.
In terms of acquisitions, the French retailer points to its alliance with Alltricks in 2019, the online leader in running, cycling and outdoor sports, and with E-Liberty, which has become Decathlon.ski. Decathlon is currently present in 69 countries and has 93,000 employees.
