Decathlon presents its new brand direction.
As part of this, the French sporting goods retailer is significantly reducing its portfolio of own brands and at the same time focusing on a new visual identity, Decathlon announced on Tuesday.
Last year, Decathlon planned to delete around thirty of the forty-nine existing brands; The sports chain is now reinforcing this approach. In order to make the company’s portfolio clearer for customers and at the same time to unleash the brand’s full potential, it was decided to start the future with nine specialized areas and four expert brands. The specialized areas include the own brands Quechua for mountain sports, Tribord for water and wind sports, Rockrider for outdoor cycling, Domyos as a fitness brand, Kuikma for racquet sports, Kipsta as a team sports brand, Caperlan for nature sports, B’twin for urban mobility and Inesis for precision sports. The so-called expert brands include Van Rysel, Simond, Kiprun and Sologna.
However, this is not the only innovation, as the reduced portfolio goes hand in hand with a new brand identity for Decathlon. While retaining the company’s distinctive blue, the sporting goods retailer is also introducing a symbol, the so-called “Orbit”. This symbolizes movement, the ambition to reach new heights and the circular economy, according to Decathlon.
Decathlon’s new identity and look will be implemented in more than 1,700 stores worldwide. A facility is planned that will offer customers intuitive navigation, better visibility of products, attractive physical and digital displays and an aesthetically pleasing atmosphere. The store in Böblingen near Stuttgart is the first in Germany. This is scheduled to open in May.
Decathlon’s “North Star” and sustainability
According to the sports retailer founded in 1978, the changes at Decathlon are based on a long-term goal, the so-called “North Star” of the company. This goal, “Move People Through the Wonders of Sport,” is intended to accelerate the company’s mission to have a positive impact on society and the planet.
Following on from this goal, Decathlon has reaffirmed its goal of achieving net zero by 2050. At the end of February, the sporting goods retailer signed the European Commission’s “Sustainable Consumption Pledge” and committed itself to decarbonizing its own activities in accordance with the Paris Climate Agreement. The associated goals include reducing absolute CO₂ emissions by 20 percent by the end of 2026, by 42 percent by the end of 2030 and finally net zero by 2050.
To achieve these goals, Decathlon focused in particular on extending product life through durability or repairability, promoting a second life for products and renting out items.