Decathlon has launched a sweeping brand transformation, unveiling its new identity and mission to ignite the spirit of play worldwide.
The multi-specialist sports brand introduced its “Orbit” logo alongside the mantra, “Move People Through the Wonders of Sport,” signaling a fresh approach to engaging diverse communities in physical activity.
This initiative marks a significant shift for Decathlon, emphasizing innovation, accessibility, and sustainability in sports. Established in 1976 in Lille, France, by Michel Leclercq as part of his “gang of seven” (Didier Decramer, Stéphane Delesalle, Nicolas Dubrulle, Stanislas Ernoult, Hervé Valentin, Benoit Poizat), the company has long championed sports’ benefits for individual well-being and societal health. Now, amidst rising concerns over physical inactivity, Decathlon’s revamped purpose aims to leverage the joy and unity of play to cultivate healthier, happier communities globally.
”At Decathlon, we believe that sport has a vital role to play in helping societies to be healthier and happier,” Decathlon’s CEO, Barbara Martin Coppola, said in a statement. ”Sport helps us reconnect with our humanity, with the planet, and with our physical selves. So, we took a moment to ask ourselves who we really want to be and why we exist as an organization.”
Big changes coming
The rebranding underscores Decathlon’s commitment to enhancing the customer experience, with a focus on a revamped product lineup, digital integration and eco-conscious practices. The new brand identity celebrates movement, ambition, and environmental responsibility, reinforcing Decathlon’s dedication to fostering inclusive sporting experiences.
”Anchored to this purpose, we created a new strategy to concretely evolve many aspects of our business. This includes recreating our customer experience, accelerating the movement towards sustainability, and modernizing our company end-to-end,” Martin Coppola said.
As Decathlon embarks on this transformative journey, it reaffirms its position as a catalyst for positive change, encouraging individuals worldwide to rediscover the joy of play and embrace the wonders of sport. With its ambitious vision, Decathlon sets a new industry standard, inspiring communities globally to embrace sports with renewed enthusiasm and purpose.
Simplified brand portfolio
Part of the reorientation is also to simplify the Decathlon brand portfolio with nine specialized areas and four expert brands. The specialized areas include the own brands Quechua (mountain sports), Tribord (water and wind sports), Rockrider (outdoor cycling), Domyos (fitness), Kuikma (racquet sports), Kipsta (team sports), Caperlan (nature sports), B’twin (urban mobility) and Inesis (precision sports). Van Rysel, Simond, Kiprun and Solognac are among the expert brands.
Sustainable business
As it did before the rebranding, Decathlon remains committed to achieving net zero by 2050. The CO2 reduction targets cover the following areas (Scopes 1, 2 and 3):
- Reduce absolute CO2 emissions by 20 percent by the end of 2026
- Reduce absolute CO2 emissions by 42 percent by the end of 2030 and net zero by 2050
In 2023, Decathlon was able to increase its sales (growth) for the second year in a row while emitting less CO2. The company will continue to work closely with suppliers and partners to achieve this goal and will also pave the way for new business models based on the circular economy and extended product life cycles. This also means that Decathlon will extend product life across the entire product range and enable customers to reuse, repair and recycle their products.
Digital first for a new customer experience
Decathlon’s digital supply chain has been rethought using the latest tools and AI algorithms to enable accurate forecasting, inventory planning, and stock parameters. This has already led to a significant reduction in stock levels and many improvements, including reduced transportation costs, carbon footprint, and delivery times. In addition, the Decathlon e-commerce website is being redesigned globally to provide a seamless shopping experience for customers everywhere.
Decathlon is also breaking new ground to offer its customers an immersive shopping experience, for example with the 3D shopping app on Apple Vision Pro in the US. In the coming months, more than 1,700 stores around the world will be equipped with a completely new interior that offers customers intuitive navigation, better visibility of products, appealing physical and digital displays and an aesthetically pleasing atmosphere.
Inclusivity in the company
Decathlon has set itself the goal of becoming one of the most inclusive organizations in the world. In 2023, the leadership team achieved gender balance for the first time in its history, and the company has made unprecedented commitments for 2026. These include measuring representation, inclusion and belonging, taking action and setting global standards and best-in-class performance on diversity, equality and inclusion.
