By embedding its sportswear ranges inside German electronics giant MediaMarktSaturn, Decathlon plans to reach locations it could not access through standalone expansion for years – the latest concession deal in its German store-in-store strategy.
Decathlon is moving into MediaMarktSaturn stores across Germany, kicking off the partnership with a roughly 1,000-square-meter concession at MediaMarkt in Munich’s Perlach Einkaufszentrum (PEP) shopping center. The space opens March 26 after a full modernization of the location, and marks the first physical step in a broader store-in-store agreement between the two retailers.
For Decathlon, the move is designed to speed up expansion: the partnership provides access to cities and catchment areas that could take years to reach through standalone openings. “Some locations we would have reached through classic branch expansion only in four years – through MediaMarktSaturn we are present immediately,” Stefan Kaiser, Managing Director of Expansion at Decathlon Germany, told Handelsblatt. The French sporting goods retailer passed the 100-store milestone in Germany in late 2025 – with the 100th location opening in Nuremberg – and now operates 105 stores, targeting at least 150 by end of 2027.
From Munich to Croydon to the US: a model that is spreading fast
The MediaMarktSaturn deal is the latest addition to a concession roster Decathlon has been quietly building across Europe. In Germany alone, the chain already runs store-in-store formats inside Galeria department stores, Ikea home furnishing outlets and fashion retailer Wöhrl. Each partnership tests how Decathlon’s mid-market, full-family sportswear range performs in a different third-party retail environment.
The international footprint is expanding too. In February, Ingka Group – the franchise operator behind most of the world’s IKEA stores – confirmed that a standalone Decathlon unit will open inside its IKEA store in Croydon, south London, this spring.
What MediaMarktSaturn gets from the arrangement
For Ceconomy -owned MediaMarktSaturn, the Decathlon tie-up is an expression of its “Space as a Service” initiative, through which it sub-lets floor space to complementary retail partners. Concession boutiques are already operating within its flagship stores in Berlin and Hamburg. Carsten Geilert, Managing Director Sales at MediaMarktSaturn, articulated the category logic: customers purchasing a running watch will, at selected locations, find the matching running gear alongside it.
A market where Decathlon is still closing ground on incumbents
Decathlon’s expansion push comes amid a difficult consumer backdrop. Germany’s sporting goods retail market is still largely organised around buying-group networks. Intersport Deutschland – the cooperative federation of independent sports retailers – recorded revenues of nearly €3.5 billion in fiscal 2024/25 (ending Sept. 30). Growth stalled as shoppers shifted toward necessity-led rather than impulse purchasing, according to CEO Alexander von Preen. Rival buying group Sport 2000 grew revenues 15 percent to €3.2 billion last year, driven largely by sustained running category demand.
Decathlon’s own German revenue targets have been recalibrated over time. A goal set several years ago to more than double German sales to €2.5 billion by 2026 remains well short of reality. Kaiser described the company’s current investment posture as counter-cyclical, and flagged the 2026 FIFA World Cup as an anticipated demand catalyst.
