1976 - DECATHLON's birth
An innovative concept imagined by Michel Leclercq
The first store opened in Englos (in Northern France), bringing all the sports under the same roof.
DECATHLON's story: our key dates
DECATHLON is a long story about sports, products, and especially, women and men. Read all about it here!
Decathlon's story - our key dates
1982 - The DECATHLON jingle first appears (along with a warehouse)
- The famous “TULULUTUTU” jingle is composed! “TULULUTUTU” and the slogan “SPORT FOR THE MANY!” are still the same to this day!
The 1st warehouse opens in Villeneuve-d’Ascq (Nord, France). The suppliers no longer directly deliver to stores, with DECATHLON handling the logistics.
The hero of our first advertisement: Tarzan.
1986: A busy year!
The creation of “DECATHLON Production” to design and manufacture our DECATHLON signature branded products. The bike frame is one of the first articles manufactured.
Right next to it: visual of the 1st frame of the Challenger bike by DECATHLON.
Decathlon exports itself!
1st Decathlon store opens outside France at Dortmund (Germany).
Logistics and second-hand
Logistics continues its development in France. An 8,000 sqm warehouse opens in Vitrolle (in Southern France).
We create the TROCATHLON, allowing our customers to buy and sell to each other second-hand equipment.
1987
In France, teammates become company shareholders.
1988
We create Decathlon's Training Academy for training teams in-house.
1992
DECATHLON designs its first packaging in line with an eco-designed approach.
1993
5,000 TEAMMATES and 100 STORES!
• DECATHLON crosses the French Alps and opens in Milan (Italy).
• Shift from 100% manual logistics to mechanised logistics.
1994
DECATHLON Campus opens in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, (Northern France).
1996
TRIBORD (water sports) and QUECHUA (mountain sports) see the light of day. These are DECATHLON's first brands.
• We establish an industrial management department to optimise production processes.
• Porte des Alpes store No 121 opens its doors in Lyon (France). It becomes in 2011 our biggest French store with 12,800 sq. m surface area.
1997
We create DECATHLON SportsLab. Its assignment: analyse the human body's movements to design innovative technical products that are even more comfortable!
• The logistics goes international! 1st warehouse opens outside France, in Martorell (Spain).
• Store No 171 opens in Trans-en-Provence (Var, France). It was the smallest DECATHLON store with an 898 sq. m surface area before being modernised and extended in 2018.
1999
• Launched B’Twin 5, an excellent balance between an MTB and a city bike. Its slogan: “At ease just as much everywhere as everywhere”.
Opening of the first Quechua site
A site entirely dedicated to mountain sports. The design team moved to Domancy (Haute-Savoie, France).
2001
25,000 Teammates and 300 stores!
• Official opening of the first DECATHLON Village, at Bouc-Bel-Air (Bouches-du-Rhône, France).
• New century, new stores. DECATHLON opens in Brazil in Sao Paulo.
2002
• We unveil the “Human Responsibility in Production” charter and conduct first audits of our suppliers.
2003
• 1st store in China opens in Shanghai.
• We set up “winning teammates” survey: an in-house indicator assessing teammates' satisfaction.
2004
• Site in Hendaye opens (Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France), entirely dedicated to water sports.
2005
• DECATHLON faces the cold and opens its first store in Moscow (Russia).
• We establish the DECATHLON Foundation. Teammates create a foundation supporting sports projects helping the inclusion of people in vulnerable situations.
• The first DECATHLON franchise store opens in Guadeloupe (Caribbean).
• New small-format store concept. Nowadays renamed DECATHLON Essentiel, the first store, then called TOBOGGAN, opened in Bron (Rhône, France).
• QUECHUA launches the famous “2 Seconds” pop-up tents, proving to be a success and symbolising DECATHLON's approach to innovation.
✅ The first prototypes of Quechua's 2 seconds pop-up tents date back to 2004.
2006
• We launched koodza.fr, the forerunner to decathlon.fr (e-commerce website).
• Arrival in store of the first products with an eco-design approach.
• DECATHLON becomes a sustainable development pioneer in retail parks, in France. Store No 450 in Saint-Quentin (Aisne, France), is the first to adopt an environmental approach: rainwater management, the introduction of natural light, etc.
2008
• koodza.fr becomes decathlon.com. Our customers can reserve their items online!
• We establish the environmental leader network in our brands and industrial processes.
• DOMYOS, the brand dedicated to indoor fitness sports, sets its teams up in the Domyos Centre, at Marcq-en-Baroeul, in Northern France (photo).
• A design centre and store dedicated to shooting, fishing and archery opens in Cestas (Gironde, France).
2009
• Human Responsibility in Products audits are conducted in-house.
• Inesis Golf Park opens in Marcq-en-Baroeul (Northern France).
2010
• 45 000 TEAMMATES and 600 STORES!
• We establish the B’Twin Village in Lille (Northern, France), a new cycling park for bike enthusiasts.
We opened a new position dedicated to Human Responsibility in Production.
2011
• In France, decathlon.com and decathlon.fr merge, making it simpler!
• The 1st HQEⓇ (High Quality Environmental standard) store opens in Calais (Pas-de-Calais, France).
2012
• DECATHLON experiments with environmental labelling, enabling customers to compare its products' impact.
2013
• DECATHLON's 5 key commitments supporting sustainable development are written.
• We put in place an audit of building structures in Bangladesh.
• We conduct DECATHLON's first company-wide carbon footprint assessment.
2014
• Launch Click & Collect, which becomes our customers preferred delivery option in 2015.
We conduct first generalised on-site water treatment audits at our suppliers.
• The QUECHUA teams move to a unique setting: 10,000 sq. m where designers and sports users can directly exchange with each other. New: the site is designed in line with an environmentally friendly approach.
2015
• decathlon.fr website achieves 145 million visits.
• The Kiosk Plus is installed in the store. And allows the customer to access 100% of the internet product offer.
• Kexuedadao (China) hosts the 1000th DECATHLON store.
• Kipstadium opens in Tourcoing (Nord, France). Team sports enthusiasts get their playground
2016
• DECATHLON celebrates its 40th birthday! And creates a multitude of new brands better meeting the needs of its sports users.
• Sustainable development integrates the company's strategic vision.
2024
1749 shops worldwide,
100,701 team-mates
... and DECATHLON has a new logo!
