Decathlon doubles down on India, eyes 15% of global manufacturing in 5 years

Decathlon, the French sports retail giant, is sharply pivoting its global manufacturing focus toward India. Currently, India accounts for 8% of Decathlon’s worldwide production. But over the next five years, the company wants to nearly double that figure to 15%. The rationale is a mix of scale, know-how, and an increasingly integrated local supply chain that already supports 70% of all products sold in India.

“India today contributes 8% to our global production,” said Frederic Merlevede, Global Production Director at Decathlon. “We are aiming, in five years of time, that India represents 15% of the business. And this is not a static business—it’s growing. So, this means what we will have to produce will be more and more.”

The company started manufacturing in India in 2000 with leather horse-riding products in Chennai. That early presence has expanded into a diverse production base ranging from textiles and footwear to bicycles, rackets, gloves, optics, and even nutrition. In 2023, Decathlon manufactured over 100 million items in India - roughly 3 lakh per day.

This local sourcing push isn’t just about exports. “Today, 70% of the quantity sold in India is made in India,” said Sankar Chatterjee, CEO of Decathlon Sports India. “This is one of our biggest strengths and what we call our singularity.” He highlighted how Made-in-India bicycles, which once made up just 2% of Decathlon’s local sales, now account for more than 98%.

Decathlon’s bet on India is also shaped by the country’s ability to offer end-to-end manufacturing across categories. “Very few countries in the world have the same capabilities as India,” Merlevede pointed out, listing everything from plastic injection to textile, footwear, and sports equipment. “It’s a great place to provide what Decathlon needs in terms of product which is Made in India, for India.”

Green manufacturing

The manufacturing footprint isn’t just wide, it’s getting greener. About 45% of the energy used to produce Decathlon products in India is already from solar and wind, and the company is phasing out coal completely by year-end. Around 60% of the products made and sold in India are now “eco-designed”, with a lower CO2 impact and often built from organic Indian cotton, particularly in categories like yoga wear.

Behind these numbers lies a deliberate strategy to build long-term partnerships. “We don’t work one year, we work 10, 20 years with our suppliers,” Merlevede said. “We have an impact on 80,000 people across our supplier panel. The more we produce locally, the more we want those people to win from the presence of Decathlon.”

Chatterjee called out the role of manufacturing in reinforcing the company’s larger retail play. In FY24, Decathlon India clocked ₹4,100 crore in revenue. Of this, 60% of the turnover and 70% of product volume came from locally manufactured goods. “This gives us a long advantage,” he said. “Our singularity is that we are not just selling, we are making here.”

India is also core to Decathlon’s omni-channel push. The company now delivers to over 21,000 pin codes across the country through its app and website, has 132 stores in 55 cities, and works with 3,000+ B2B resellers in smaller towns and cities where it doesn't have a retail footprint. “Whether it’s through physical stores, digital channels, or wholesale, our aim is to make sports accessible to the many,” Chatterjee added.

Looking ahead, the company plans to deepen its capabilities in high-range and technical products and adopt advanced manufacturing techniques like automation and AI. Decathlon is also banking on India’s engineering talent pool to help it scale innovation in product development.

“The expectations from Indian customers are evolving fast in terms of design, range, and speed to market,” Merlevede said. “To keep pace, we need to boost local development and improve our responsiveness. That’s why producing in India makes sense, both now and in the future.”