The History of Decathlon

Decathlon is one of the world’s largest sports retailers, with more than 2,000 stores in 56 countries worldwide. In 2022, we were also ranked 15th on the Forbes list of the world’s best employers.

Wondering how Decathlon became one of the most beloved sports brands in the world? In this article, we’ll tell you how the company was founded, what values we pride ourselves on, and how we got to where we are today.

The Story of Decathlon

How Decathlon Was Born

Decathlon was founded in 1976 in the French city of Lille by Michel Leclerq. Until then, he’d been working in IT for his family business, retail group Auchan. However, his dream was to create a sports retail store where all sports lovers could get what they need at an affordable price.

He teamed up with fellow sports lovers Didier Decramer, Stéphane Delesalle, Nicolas Dubrulle, Stanislas Ernoult, Hervé Valentin, Benoit Poizat, and together, they would go on to make Leclerq’s dream a reality. The idea was to bring every sport under one roof.

While the first store opened in Lille, it wasn’t long before Decathlon began to expand internationally. First, with a store in Dortmund, Germany. Over the years, more and more stores were opened in Europe, South America, Asia, Africa, North America, and Oceania.

Decathlon’s Values

At Decathlon, our goal is to sustainably make the pleasure and benefits of sports accessible to the many.

We are a team of passionate sportspeople who want to share our love of sports with the world. Customer satisfaction is our priority, and we pride ourselves on making our customers happy, not only with the products we provide, but with the sports advice we give to help them enjoy their sports experience. In each of our stores, we build sports communities to help people access and enjoy the sports they love.

We’re also passionate about the planet. In 2006, we began our eco-design approach to reduce our impact on the environment. Now, our goal is for 100% of our products to be made with an aco-design approach by 2026.

Sports Innovation at Decathlon

Innovation is at the heart of everything we do at Decathlon. We’re constantly striving to improve the products, services and experience we provide.

In 1996, we created Tribord and Quechua, our very first sports brands. Now, Decathlon has more than 20 passion brands across various sports. We even have passion brands made in Thailand, such as Waikru for Muay Thai products, and Chaiyo for sepak takraw. We also own our own research and development facilities in France, where we develop new and innovative products, registering up to 40 patents per year.

History of Decathlon Thailand

In 1989, Decathlon arrived in Thailand with the opening of our very own factory. It wasn’t until several years later in 1996 that a Decathlon Thailand outlet was born.

In 2013, we launched Decathlon e-commerce in Thailand, and in 2015, we opened our very first Decathlon Thailand store in Bangna. Now, we have a total of 22 branches in Thailand, including 13 experience stores and 9 click and collect stores. We are steadily expanding across the land of smiles, with stores in Phuket, Korat and Chiang Mai.

Visit Us at Decathlon Thailand

Now that you know the story of Decathlon, it’s time to enjoy our incredible sports shopping experience for yourself.

With more than 5,000 products for 70 sports under just one roof, you’re sure to find everything you need to enjoy the sports you love.

Visit a Decathlon Thailand store or shop online at www.decathlon.co.th.