News

VILLENEUVE D’ASCQ, France (July 13) - Decathlon, the French chain-store giant, is claiming to be the world's third largest bicycle supplier - right after Giant and Trek. Reason for this claim to fame is the recent growth in sales of the company's own-brand-bikes. In 2003, 1.160.000 units found an owner - in '04, this number has grown to 1.8 million. At retail level bike sales were good for € 330 million, making this department second only to Decathlon's outdoor brand, Quechua, which had sales of €500 million. To built further on this success, Decathlon has invested €12 million in a dedicated cycle business unit in Chambery, France to be lead by Dominique Daguillon. A detailed report on Decathlon's new bike headquarters is in the August edition of Bike Europe.(MH)