Following the promotion of long-time German CEO André Weinert to CEO for Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe (CESEE), the French sporting goods retailer and manufacturer Decathlon has appointed Arnaud Sauret as his successor with immediate effect.
Sauret has been responsible for Decathlon’s growth as Managing Director in Malaysia for the past four years. His Decathlon career began in 1996 in Dortmund, where the first German Decathlon store was located. Over the next ten years, he built his retail expertise, rising from team and organization manager to store manager in Germany. In 2006, Sauret was drawn back to France, where he worked first for Decathlon’s own brand Solognac as Supply Manager and then as Product Manager. Soon, he became Regional Manager at Decathlon France. He then took on the challenge of being responsible for the entire product range and production in Russia. This was followed by another four years as Managing Director of Decathlon-Malaysia.
“I am very happy to come back to Germany,” Sauret said about his appointment. „It makes me insanely proud to see how Decathlon Germany has grown over the past years. The team now consists of more than 6,000 employees; we are represented in over 80 locations in Germany and most recently achieved a record result of €1.06 billion in gross sales in 2022. I look forward to continuing this successful journey together with everyone.”
With the new CEO, Decathlon Germany is continuing to work towards its goal of becoming the first address for sports in Germany by 2026. The company will not only focus on its broad product range at a decent price but also increasingly on its high-tech products for athletes and the expansion of sustainable services such as repairs, second use and buyback.
