Decathlon opened its first store in Thailand earlier this month, as part of a program to open five stores in Bangkok by the end of November. The stores are to be spread across the capital, including one right in the center, and they should cover between 1,700 and 2,700 square meters each. Decathlon has started hiring about 120 people to run the stores, which will sell only private label items. Decathlon Thailand is run by Frédéric Bichet, who started at the company about ten years ago and spent the last four of them in India. Decathlon has been sourcing products in Thailand for about two decades. The Thai store openings come as Decathlon is preparing to move into several other countries in Southeast Asia. A spokesman said that Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia were the regional targets for openings in the next few months. The first Malaysian store is to open in Kuala Lumpur Sri Damansara in April. The retailer is also continuing to rapidly develop across China and India.

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