How does Decathlon keep prices low? Who designs their products? Can they fix my bicycle?
Decathlon recently announced a slew of changes, including a new logo, more in-house sports brands and selling on Carousell. CNA Lifestyle finds out more about what goes into developing their products.
Decathlon's new look and in-store experience that are coming your way. (Photos: Decathlon)
Your favourite French sports equipment store Decathlon is going to look a whole lot different. Showrooms, mannequins, interactive displays and even a new logo (is that a new blue tone, too?) are coming your way.
Their in-house brands have also expanded to nine sport categories (hello, athleisure looks from Domyos!) and four "expert" brands – which means no matter what level of sports you play, there's something for you.
On top of that, it has launched a Buy Back programme, which lets you sell your pre-loved Decathlon bike back to the store – and teamed up with Carousell to list these second-hand items. There’s also their existing Second Life programme for lightly used equipment at up to 60 per cent off. And did we mention, they’re absorbing the 1 per cent GST hike as well?
With all the new developments in Decathlon to make the active lifestyle even more accessible, CNA Lifestyle decided to find out a bit more.
SO HOW EXACTLY DOES DECATHLON KEEP PRICES SO AFFORDABLE?
Just how low are their prices? Some of their cheapest bestsellers include the Hiking 10L NH Arpenaz 50 for S$3.90 and swimming goggles for S$2.90. Granted, these are not gear that the more dedicated sportspeople would use, but the price seems right when you're not keen to splurge on a sport you're not sure you'll continue playing.
Still, the question remains: How do they keep prices low? In a nutshell, they try to keep everything in-house and cut out the middleman as much as possible.
Extras that cost you and the Earth are out as well. “We eliminate packaging where it isn't necessary (that’s why you won’t get a shoe box for their footwear) and adopt a cashless policy to reduce our footprint,” said Singapore’s commercial leader Cynthia Lau.
Keeping things in-house also extends to their R&D. Take the 2 Person 2 Seconds Instant Camping Shelter (the tent literally takes two seconds to set up) and Easybreath Surface Mask, for example. They're the brainchildren of Decathlon's 15 internationally located design centres as well as over 850 engineers and 400 designers, who are behind some 900 patents and counting.
A few of these design centres are based in France. Their mountain sports headquarters in Haute-Savoie has the famous Chamonix as its neighbour.
The water sports HQ is located in the Pyrenees-Atlantiques, which TripAdvisor recommends for rafting, tubing, canyoning and any wet-and-wild activity. Meanwhile, their urban mobility and cycling design centre sits in bike-friendly Lille, north of France – and is also the birthplace of Decathlon back in 1976.
“Every design team is conveniently located where their sport is most accessible and frequently practised, allowing us to observe and collect feedback from users,” said Lau.
WHAT'S THE STORY BEHIND THE NAMES OF THEIR IN-HOUSE BRANDS?
The unusual names behind Decathlon's nine in-house brands are inspired by the sport categories they represent. For instance, Quechua (say "keh chu wuh") is borrowed from the Peruvian indigenous people who call the Andes Mountains their home. Naturally, items for camping, hiking and mountaineering fall under this brand.
Domyos, a portmanteau of "do" (meaning the way) and "myos" (meaning heart and muscle), sums up the yoga, pilates and cross-training category that the brand reps. Tribord, which is French for "starboard", is for water- and wind-based sports such as sailing and kayaking. Meanwhile, Kuikma is known to be an Aztec word that means "team fun", and it's for racket sports such as badminton, tennis and squash.
There's also Rockrider (mountain cycling), Kipsta (team sports eg. soccer, volleyball and basketball), Caperlan (fishing), Btwin (say "between"; urban sports eg. cycling, skateboarding and scootering) and Inesis (say "ee nee sis"; golf).
HOW ARE THEIR MASSIVE STORES CATEGORISED?
Their floor space ranges from 3,200sqm at Centrepoint in Orchard Road to 5,000sqm at the flagship store in Kallang. That's a lot of ground to cover if you're in a rush.
To help you navigate the stores, look for the sport category such as Hiking, Cycling, Running or Water Sports printed at the start of each aisle to clue you in, said Singapore's communications manager Charisse Ong. Else, you can always identify where you are in the store by the brands mentioned above.
Here's another tip if you want to increase your chances of finding what you need: Head for the Kallang outlet, said Ong. It has a wider selection of sports equipment and available stock. Take tennis rackets, for example. "You'll find rackets for beginner, intermediate and advanced players, and at prices that fit your budget," she said.
THEIR BICYCLES SEEM POPULAR. BUT DOES AFFORDABLE MEAN WE WON’T FIND “PRO” MODELS?
They do have serious racing models such as the Van Rysel (say "van rye sel") RCR collection. In fact, Van Rysel provides the French AG2R La Mondiale cycling teams with bikes and related equipment.
“They compete with our products on the elite level and we gain invaluable insights and feedback from these professional athletes, allowing us to continually refine our goods for our customers through our R&D process,” said Lau.
The Van Rysel RCR models, which incidentally, will be available in Singapore from June onwards, are the result of such a process. The bikes bear the athletes’ feedback and test analyses from the French aerospace lab Onera, along with learning points from Japan on how strategic carbon-fibre placements can affect frame stiffness and pedal power.
Other than cycling, there are also "professional" in-house brands for running (Kiprun; say "kip run"), rock climbing (Simond; say "see mond"), and outdoor gear such as binoculars and hammocks (Solognac; say "soh log neck").
CAN WE BRING OUR BIKES IN FOR MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR?
Only if it's a Decathlon bike. “People bring in their bikes for a wide range of issues,” said Noel Dinesh, a city repairability leader. “The most common are punctured tyre tubes; 60 per cent to 70 per cent of what we do are tube changes.” FYI, Decathlon charges S$8.40 for a new tube and S$7 for the changing service.
The second-most sought-after service is bicycle servicing, said Dinesh. The fee ranges from S$40 for a basic check (brakes, steering and drivetrain) to S$120 for a full reconditioning, excluding fork servicing and wheel reconditioning.
WE HEARD DECATHLON BUYS BACK USED BICYCLES. HOW DOES THAT WORK?
The Buy Back programme was just launched in 2024 to let Decathlon members trade in their used Decathlon bicycles in exchange for shopping vouchers. Of course, the value of the voucher depends on the bicycle type and condition after being inspected by the staff, which can be done at any of its stores. You’ll need to fill in an online form and make an appointment before bringing your ride down.
Then, there is Second Life, which is an interpretation of the store’s Trocathlon events or second-hand flea markets that have been held in France since 1986. Here, they take pre-loved sports equipment, refurbish them and sell them at discounted prices. Just look for the green Second Life tags when you’re in the stores. Each second-hand bike comes with a two-year warranty by Decathlon.
Kick scooters, inline skates, road bikes and especially children’s bikes formed the main bulk of the in-store offerings when we visited. Online, you can find other items such as treadmills and camping equipment, which you can order via Click & Collect and have them delivered, or pick them up in person at designated outlets.
How much can you expect to save buying Second Life products? About 10 per cent for newer items and even up to 60 per cent off for more used ones. “In 2023, we gave a second chance to 23,550 sports products,” said Lau of the programme that kicked off in Singapore in 2022. That’s quite a bit of savings.
CAN WE REALLY PLAY WITH THE SPORTS EQUIPMENT IN THE STORES?
Decathlon actually encourages you to try the sports equipment before buying – as long as you do so in the designated test zones and with the indicated test products.
You can usually find bicycles, inline skates, scooters, fitness equipment and tents but if there's a sporting event or trend, they may change the test products accordingly. “If we are approaching an upcoming cycling event, we may highlight our bicycle offerings in-store,” said Lau. And towards the end of the year, they may roll out more winter products such as ski pants and down jackets for winter holidays.
As for the scuffed or lightly used equipment, the store gives them a second life through, you’ve guessed it, the Second Life programme.
WHAT’S THERE FOR THOSE WHO AREN’T OUTDOORSY OR SPORTY?
A personal favourite of Ong is the versatile Trekking 15L 2-in-1 Compact Tote Bag Travel (S$24.90). “It’s perfect for everyday use and best of all, you can carry it as a tote as well as a backpack. You can also fold and stash it in another bag and pull it out to use when you have more things to carry.”
If you love to travel, Ong recommends the Trekking Set Of 3 Storage Bags (S$14.90) to better pack your clothes. The entire set consists of one large bag and two smaller ones, and all come with mesh tops – and might we add, costs less than half the price of just one packing cube from a certain popular Japanese brand.
"The small wagons are also useful for grocery shopping and I hear production houses use them to transport their camera equipment as well, said Ong.
DO THEY HAVE ANY PLANS OF EXPANDING TO, SAY, F&B?
Power bars, energy gels, protein powders and supplements aside, there's also Simply Wrapps at the Kallang outlet that sells cold-pressed juices and coffee as well as halal-certified wraps, salads, quesadillas and burritos. We were told that kids' birthday parties have been held here, too. There are no plans to set up another Simply Wrapps outlet at the moment.
ARE THERE FREE ACTIVITIES THAT WE CAN JOIN?
The stores in Kallang and Bedok have nearby multi-purpose courts that are open to the public. They are also used during some free activities organised by Decathlon such as basketball workshops, introduction classes to ultimate frisbee, Korean pop dance and Zumba as well as kid-friendly activities such as introduction workshops to inline skating and athletics.
If you’ve visited the Kallang and Northshore outlets, you might recall seeing the Active Health Lab and Active Health Discovery respectively. You can try your hand at a range of sports, learn about sport nutrition, get your health and fitness metrics assessed, and even find like-minded people to exercise with, all of which is made complimentary by Sport Singapore.
Speaking of activities, the Decathlon Circular Bazaar is happening on Mar 29 to 31, 10am to 8pm at the Decathlon Singapore Lab (next to the Kallang outlet). You can trade in your Decathlon bike at a greater value (up to 70 per cent), give away pre-loved clothes and textiles with Refash and Cloop as well as participate in free activities such as piloxing and cycling for kids. More details here.
