Decathlon appoints founder’s youngest son as new president

On 10 March, Julien Leclercq will become president of French sports retailer Decathlon. It is not only remarkable that he is the youngest son of founder Michel Leclercq, but also that his two brothers preceded him in this position.

From shop floor to management board

The forty-year-old succeeds current chairman Fabien Derville in two weeks’ time, regional newspaper La Voix du Nord quotes from an internal Decathlon communication. Leclercq is not only the son of the man who founded the sports company in 1975, but also a nephew of Gérard Mulliez, the founder of French retail chain Auchan. Both families are well-known names in the French business world and both are major Decathlon shareholders.