The French sporting goods dealer Decathlon set up a new sales record in Germany in the 2024 financial year. In the coming years, the company plans to drive its growth course with numerous new openings.
The total sales (GMV) reached a height of 1.17 billion euros in Germany last year, the subsidiary decathlon Germany SE & Co. KG announced on Monday. This gave rise to 2.1 percent compared to 2023 and achieved a new maximum value in the company’s history. The categories of cycling (+8 percent) and team sport (+7.5 percent) as well as the area of service and repairs (+16 percent) included the growth strikers.
However, the operational profit from Decathlon Germany decreased. The result before interest and taxes (EBIT), which was 38.6 million euros last year, shrank to 27.3 million euros. The company justified the decline in “high investment costs for the extensive expansion plans in 2025”.
Until 2027, Decathlon wants to open 60 new branches in Germany
The retailer also confirmed his growth goals presented last autumn. It is therefore planned to open 60 new branches in Germany by 2027 and to hire up to 3,000 additional employees: inside.
At the end of last year, DeCathlon Germany claimed to be 88 stores and employed 5,522 people. In total, the sporting goods provider invested 19 million euros in the development of the location in 2024. Decathlon Germany opened new branches in Potsdam and Hamburg, and numerous shops were also modernized or laid to more attractive locations.
CEO Arnaud Sauret draws positive annual balance sheet
Arnaud Sauret, the CEO of Decathlon Germany, took a positive balance of the past year. “Our success in 2024, which is largely supported by our Omni strategy, shows that we are on the right track, with a strong focus on customer proximity, sustainability and innovation,” he said in a statement. “In 2025, our course for expansion with the ambitious goal is that in the future we can offer a touchpoint for our announcements throughout Germany within a 20-minute radius.”
For the current year, the company is planning an investment total of 57 million euros. By 2027, the group plans to invest 100 million euros in the “expansion of the brand presence in the German market”.