Companies

Decathlon UK posts loss as it invests in transformation plan

Jun 21, 2024 United Kingdom

The UK arm of the French-based retailer posted a 2 million British pounds (2.4m euros) loss in 2023, after investing 10 million British pounds (11.8m euros) in transformation initiatives

The full year loss of 2 million British pounds (2.4 million euros) was in line with previous expectations. In fact, Decathlon UK reported a 5% fall in sales year-on-year and a 2.5% fall in like-for-like sales, saying that its performance had been affected by cautious retailer spending, a difficult economic environment, unpredictable weather and the closure of underperforming stores.

On the other hand, the sportswear retailer has also invested 10 million British pounds (11.8 million euros) in several transformation initiatives to improve its resilience and drive growth.

In 2023, Decathlon UK launched a new website, modernised its key strategic stores, automated its warehouses and expanded its circular business model through buy-back and rental schemes. It also strengthened its wholesale business through partnerships with Next, Argos, eBay, Asda, Debenhams and Tesco, and improved stock efficiency by 16%, reducing stock by 16 million British pounds (18.9 million euros).

Decathlon’s results in the UK come despite a strong performance across the wider business last year, with sales growth of 4.4% and a net profit of 931 million euros.

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

Image Credits: cwb-online.co

France United Kingdom Decathlon Investment Results Retail Sportswear Year Results