Relying on affordable and complete sports and outdoor products
Decathlon
In the "sports brand industry" where thousands of dollars are often worth
It's a breath of fresh air
Recently, a "Decathlon quietly increased its price".
Word suddenly circulated on the Internet
It has attracted great attention from netizens
Many netizens said
"I'm going to find out the replacement of Decathlon in the future"
The price of the "affordable supermarket" has risen
"The Decathlon backpack that I bought for nearly 49 yuan two years ago has now risen to almost 90 yuan. On social platforms, a consumer was surprised to share a screenshot of the purchase of an "appreciation" backpack.
Netizens complained that the price of the same backpack increased by 40 yuan. Source: Upstream News
Recently, many domestic netizens have found that Decathlon is quietly raising prices, and the prices of single products that were once close to the people have been raised. Some netizens said that the camping chair that was bought at Decathlon at 149.9 yuan at the earliest, rose to 199.9 yuan two years later, and found that the price had risen to 249.9 yuan when it was exchanged for a new one, and then watched it rise to 299.9 yuan, "If it continues like this, it is expected to rise to 349.9 yuan by the end of the year, which is more valuable than the stock fund I bought." ”
Some consumers found that the price of a certain Decathlon jacket was 150 yuan, and the matching polar fleece jacket was 100 yuan, while the same jacket is now 235 yuan after discount, and the polar fleece jacket is 130 yuan, and the price of the suit has risen by more than 100 yuan.
From a data point of view, Decathlon has indeed increased in price. According to Mojing data, in 2023, the average price of single products in Decathlon's Tmall store will rise slowly in ups and downs, but under the market trend of outdoor sports, the overall sales of Decathlon will also continue to grow simultaneously.
In addition, Decathlon's price increase actually has a "precursor". It is reported that in 2021, Decathlon will raise the price of about 1/10 of its goods in Taiwan, China by about 26%. Decathlon responded that the price increase was affected by the cost of raw materials and transportation.
Replace the logo and go to the high-end market
As a people-friendly brand from France, Decathlon has always played the role of a "cheap supermarket" in the field of sports. Compared with Nike, Adidas and other sports brands, its price advantage is very obvious, and a large number of customers patronize Decathlon's stores because of the cost performance.
It is worth noting that last month, Decathlon just completed a brand upgrade, and in the new brand matrix, high-end positioning brands have emerged, and product pricing has jumped to four or even five figures. For example, a road bicycle currently sold in the Tmall flagship store is priced at 24,999 yuan, and 42 pieces of the product have been sold.
Why did Decathlon "pivot" to the high-end, perhaps from its financial figures.
On April 4, Decathlon released its annual financial report data showing that the group's annual performance reached 15.6 billion euros (about 122.293 billion yuan), an increase of 1.15% over 2022. Online sales accounted for 17.4% of the Group's revenue, up 0.7% compared to 2022, and the Group's net profit in 2023 amounted to 931 million euros, with a net profit margin of 5.9%, the same as in 2022. From the perspective of sports brands, Decathlon's annual sales are second only to Nike and Adidas, but the net profit margin of both brands is higher than 10%.
It's not just Decathlon that has raised prices
Looking at the sports and outdoor industry, price increases are almost the overall trend of the market.
According to the sales data of an e-commerce platform, only taking the storm jacket category that has exploded in recent years as an example, domestic and foreign brands, including Beimian, Archaeopteryx, Columbia, Camel, Jiaoxia, and Pathfinder, showed an increase of 2.8%-58.9%, among which domestic brands with relatively cheap unit prices have also increased more significantly.
According to upstream news reports, the domestic brand Kaile Stone has been taking the cost-effective route before, and has also been praised in the outdoor circle because of its cost performance, but now its price has approached the north. Netizens said that in 2022, the price of the brand's Hunting Wind series will be five or six hundred yuan, and it will have risen to one thousand yuan in 2023. In addition, the price of a tent is as high as 5,000 yuan, and the price is close to many outdoor brands.
At the beginning of this year, the well-known outdoor sports brand Arc'teryx also announced that it will increase the retail price of brand products online from February 15, including brand stores and online stores, with an average increase of about 20% to 30% across the board. The relevant person in charge of Arc'teryx explained that the price increase is mainly due to the high cost of production and logistics.
Fabien Brosse, Decathlon's global chief product brand officer, said in a previous interview with the media that Decathlon does intend to develop high-end brands, but this does not mean that Decathlon will completely lose its parity advantage.
Netizens are hotly discussed
For Decathlon price increases
Some netizens think it's normal
Some netizens also found it unacceptable
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Source: National Business Daily, Upstream News, China Business Daily, Southern Metropolis Daily, Beijing Business Daily
Editor-in-charge: Zhu Meirong
Editor: Anne Xu