Décathlon will begin to assemble bicycles at a new factory of its own in France as part of a €35 million investment aimed at boosting its European leadership in this category under its new private b’Twin label. The leading European sporting goods retailer will continue to get some types of bikes made by subcontractors in France, Portugal and Italy, but it will begin to put together 70,000 bikes at its own factory near its head office in Lille in the first year of operation, and then gradually rise to 170,000 units in the third year. Some parts will also be made there. Savings in logistics and other charges should more than offset the expected increase in the manufacturing costs.
The site will be that of a former state-owned plant that was making the French Gitane cigarettes. The site will also become the world headquarters of Décathlon’s b’Twin brand. It will employ 200 people currently working for the company’s bicycle department at its “campus” in Lille and hire an additional 300 over the next five years. Dominque Daguillon will continue to act manager of the b’Twin brand, launched in 1999, which is gradually replacing the Décathlon brand name on all new bike products in all the countries.
Décathlon has already decentralized the operations related to two other private brands – Quechua for outdoor products and Tribord for water products – and plans to do the same for two others, Domyos and Geologic. Thinking mountain bikes, it had been looking for a site in the Chambéry area near the Alps for its bike operations, but it finally chose the former Altadis factory as the opportunity came up for a location closer to its own headquarters.
The new 200,000-square-meter “b’Twin Village” will house all the bike-related R&D operations of Décathlon. It will also include an extensive test area. Décathlon plans to boost the staff of engineers and technicians working in the village from 90 to 160 by 2009. The bike experts now working on the sales floor in the company’s stores and those of its bike repair workshops in France will be trained at the new facility. The village wll also host a big showroom and a warehouse to service the neighboring countries.
The French retailer first launched its own brand of bicycles in 1976. Last year it sold a total of 2.1 million bikes through its own stores in 13 countries, claiming to be the third-largest brand in the category worldwide, probably following Giant and Hero. It was the largest one in Europe. It sold 1.4 million bikes in France, giving it a 30 percent market share in volume in its home market.
