Decathlon

Decathlon started with a store in Lille, France in 1976, founded by Michel Leclercq. It started to expand abroad a decade later, to Germany in 1986, Spain in 1992, Italy in 1998, Portugal, the United Kingdom in 1999, China in 2003, India in 2009, Hong Kong in 2013, Malaysia in 2016 and Southeast Asia in 2012 and South Africa, Philippines in 2017 and Australia in 2018. The company employs more than 82,000 staff[1] from 80 different nationalities.

The retailer stocks a wide range of sporting goods, from tennis rackets to advanced scuba diving equipment, usually in large superstores which are sized at an average of 4,000m².[6] Decathlon Group also owns over 20 brands,[3] with research and development facilities all over France to develop the latest innovative designs, registering up to 40 patents per year.[7] Each brand represents a different sport or group of sports, with a dedicated product development and design team.