Low Profile Decathlon First Disclosed China'S Market Performance. In Four Years, The Store Turned Four Times Revenue To 10 Billion 500 Million.

The annual revenue of 10 billion 500 million yuan has been 15 years since it entered the Chinese market. Decathlon has chosen to no longer be low-key.

After a beautiful pcript in the Chinese market, Decathlon (Decathlon), who has been in China for 15 years, finally released its China performance report for the first time.

In April 25th, the French sporting goods retailer announced its 2017 financial year results.

During the period, China's market revenue reached 10 billion 500 million yuan, and for the first time it broke through billions of dollars, creating a new high in the 15 years since the brand entered the Chinese market.

Globally, in 2017, Decathlon group's revenue was 11 billion euros (about 84 billion 700 million yuan), an increase of 11% over the previous fiscal year.

At present, the company has 1352 entity stores in nearly 40 countries and regions around the world.

Decathlon said its outstanding performance was mainly due to the growth of overseas sales.

Outside the French home market, Decathlon's overseas revenue accounted for 69%, up 13.4% to 7 billion 600 million euros from the same period last year.

In the past year, Decathlon has opened 185 new stores around the world, including returning to the US and entering 10 new markets, including Australia, Philippines, South Africa, Israel and Switzerland.

China, as the second largest market outside France, continues to maintain its most important position in the overseas market.

Public information shows that Decathlon entered China as a producer in 1992.

In 1998, the brand opened a factory store in the Xhenzhuang Industrial District of Shanghai.

However, until November 2003, the flagship store opened in Pudong, Shanghai, which was the first shopping mall opened by Decathlon in China, and the French brand was officially declared in the Chinese market.

Image source: Decathlon

After entering the Chinese market 15 years later, Decathlon's revenue in 2017 reached 10 billion 500 million yuan, and 52 new stores were opened throughout the year, ranking first in Decathlon's global sales.

It is estimated that by 2020, China will surpass France and become the number one entity market.

Decathlon first entered the Chinese cities in 2017, including Hongkong, Haikou, Fuzhou, Taiyuan, Hanzhoung, Changshu, Linfen, Taizhou, Siping, Weifang, Hengyang and Hengyang.

Although Decathlon has been doing business in Hongkong in 1980s, the first Hongkong store was officially opened in August last year, and is considered an important step for Decathlon to open up the Asia Pacific market.

Image source: Decathlon

According to the results of the report, at present, Decathlon has 267 physical shopping malls in some 100 cities in China, and the electricity business covers nearly 400 cities.

Decathlon said that since 2013, China's market has been developing at a high speed. In four years, the number of physical shopping malls increased from 69 to 267, with turnover ranging from 4 billion yuan to 10 billion 500 million yuan.

At the end of August last year, Zhang Yue, President of Decathlon Greater China, had openly mentioned that the experience of physical stores under the line is the advantage of Decathlon, while online shops are aimed at achieving full channel updates.

He said Decathlon's attention to offline stores was derived from whether consumers could test products in stores for themselves.

Image source: Decathlon

Decathlon attributed the steady performance of the Chinese market in 2017 to its continued resource integration in the whole industry chain.

Unlike most international brands, Decathlon is in China.

The role of the whole industry chain from R & D, design, production, logistics to retail.

As a result, Decathlon's cost is further controlled, resulting in lower retail prices and attractive price to consumers.

The brand said that in 2017, the layout of the whole industry chain was further improved.

In September 2017, Decathlon was put into use in China's new headquarters in Pudong New Area, Shanghai.

The new headquarters includes China's first experience shop with an area of 6000 square meters, nearly 4000 square meters of Asia's first Decathlon fitness center, more than 10 thousand square meters of all-around outdoor sports ground and open office area.

It can be seen that French brands continue to be overweight in the Chinese market.

Although China's performance is high, but as more and more international brands seize market share, competition in China's sporting goods market will intensify.

In response, Decathlon said its goal in 2018 was to improve China.

The retail mode.

"The future retail mode based on solid stores and driven by information data" is essential for the physical store to be fun, fast and simple, and accomplish these three important driving forces: technology, relationship and experience.

In the future, Decathlon will focus on building community convergence platforms based on physical retail stores, "explains Zhang Yue, President of Greater China.

At the same time, Decathlon will continue to improve online and offline integrated retail, 100% private brand and sports subdivision restructuring.

15 years ago, at the beginning of the Chinese market, Decathlon founder Michel Leclerq once said, "China is the most important market for Decathlon, not one."

As China's revenue contribution continues to grow, this goal will not change in the long run and in the long run.