Sporting goods retailer Decathlon’s stores booming amid best Australian ski season in years
One of the best starts to the Australian snow season in three decades helped generate double-digit growth for sporting retail giant Decathlon’s local stores.
One of the best starts to the Australian snow season in three decades – and the easing of health restrictions – has generated double-digit growth for sporting retail giant Decathlon’s local stores.
Decathlon, better known in Europe, has almost 1700 stores across 60 countries, including seven stores in Australia.
The company has witnessed a boom as sporting and camping categories benefit from greater freedom following the removal of Covid-19 travel restrictions.
“The Decathlon reopening post-Covid lockdowns has been very strong, with close to 15 per cent growth in revenue, year to date. We have also experienced nearly 10 per cent growth in traffic to our stores,” Decathlon spokesman Romain Gravigny said.
“Given the time of the year, ski categories, hiking, swimming and camping are doing well.
“The snow season was very strong for us and our winter campaigns have been very successful. Australians are out and about again in force, enjoying adventure and outdoor activities.”
The latest accounts show Decathlon Australia reported revenue for 2021 of $46.4m, up 7 per cent, while losses narrowed to $8.95m from $13.36m in 2020. In 2019, it posted revenue of $31.87m and losses of $20.4m.
The French giant’s access to some of the most fashionable ski gear has helped it grow its offer in Australia. Decathlon’s private-label brands Wed’ze and Quechua have a big following among the ski community, gaining credibility thanks to its design teams, which are based in the French Alps.
“Prior to the ski season we decided to invest in our ski and snow categories. We presented a very strong winter range with an amazing response from customers,” Mr Gravigny said. “In 2021 we further strengthened our range with 10 per cent more models – base layers, fleeces, accessories, skis and toboggans. We also augmented our warehouse capabilities to increase stock levels to ensure we were not affected by supply issues. We were able to fly a lot of our stock in directly from our production centres.”
Decathlon opened its first store in Australia in 2017. It sells out of big-box outlets and specialises in its own private label goods.
Mr Gravigny said the retailer’s trading had been affected by poor weather in some parts of the country, such as the recent floods, but its robust global supply chains helped it avoid severe disruptions.
“Weather events including floods and heavy rains impacted the community and as a consequence our outdoor sales have been impacted,” he said.
“Sales for some categories – including fitness and bikes – have normalised following a very strong period in 2020 and 2021.”
Decathlon has opened two new stores in the past nine months – one in Melbourne at South Morang, and another in Westfield Miranda in Sydney.
Its most recent store was opened in partnership with Westfield, marking its maiden shopping centre concept store in Australia.
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