2024 Olympics: Decathlon transforms its Olympic partnership into commercial success

Decathlon has associated its name with the most important sporting event of the year by designing the volunteers’ kit for the Paris Olympic Games and the outfit worn by the torchbearers at the opening ceremony. The company’s partnership with the 2024 Olympics has also boosted its sales figures.

According to Bastien Grandgeorge, managing director of Decathlon France, the partnership was “a fantastic opportunity to show the whole world that we also make cool, stylish products, and not just high-performance, affordable ones”.

As reported by La Voix du Nord, particularly the hat used by Olympic volunteers has been an undeniable hit with the public, and has been snapped up on second-hand sales platforms. A quick search on the second-hand app Vinted revealed that sports shirts designed by Decathlon for the Olympics are now selling for between 50 and 100 euros.

“For our very first collaboration with the Olympic Games, this is a winning partnership for the Decathlon brand,” summed up Virginie Sainte-Rose, director of the Decathlon x Paris 2024 partnership, in a press release.

Increasing numbers

The sports equipment maker reported a 40 percent increase in sales of Decathlon x Paris 2024 licensed products, which included Paris 2024 accessories and sportswear.

But it is above all in stores that Decathlon could feel the success, with increased footfall in several shops: For example the Madeleine store in Paris saw a 28 percent increase in footfall, similarly stores near host cities such as Nantes, Marseille and Lille, as well as the Campus shop in Villeneuve d’Ascq, which has seen a 22 percent increase in footfall.

Decathlon is also seeing a 10 percent increase in omnichannel footfall (in-store and online), and points out that this is “usually a peak period”.

However, the company has not indicated the conversion rate — the proportion of visitors to a store, whether physical or online, who make a purchase.

Finally, 200,000 people visited the Decathlon Playground for the first time, a facility located at the Parc de la Villette in Paris, which offered free experiences combining sports, art and culture from 27th July to 11th August. The venue appears to have been a success, with an average of 9,500 visitors a day, with peaks of 15,000.

In 2023, Decathlon recorded sales of 15.6 billion euros (about 13,3 British pounds; excluding tax), compared with 15.4 billion euros (excluding tax) in 2022, and a net income of 931 million euros. Of those, 15.6 percent were generated outside of stores (through e-commerce, B2B, external marketplaces, etc.), while 12.4 percent were digital sales.

This article was originally published on FashionUnited.fr. Edited and translated by Simone Preuss.