With a motto that says “Making sports accessible to the many”, Decathlon is fast becoming the go-to sports brand for many in India, overtaking Adidas and Nike. The brand set up its first cash and carry flagship store just four years ago in Kerela. While a few years ago only a handful of people knew about the company, it has become a name known to all today. How is it that a French sports brand has almost completely taken over the market for sports goods in India in just 9 years? In this article, I attempt to look at some of the macro factors that affect the brands marketing strategy.
Understanding the Culture
For a French company, setting up its first store in India, it is important to understand the country’s culture. In India, sports companies mostly gain reputation through word of mouth. Foreign brands are often considered fancy and only the most serious sportsmen and women invest in quality sports goods from reputed brands.
Decathlon got past this major hurdle in India by hiring local brand ambassadors or “sports leaders” as they are called. These sports leaders are usually young sports enthusiasts who are a part of the sports circle in their area. Part of the job requirement of a Sports leader is creating a community of people who regularly practice a particular sports activity together.
Decathlon promotes these young sports enthusiasts, featuring them on billboards, advertisements, and social media to get through to people from their circles. This is a good marketing strategy especially for sports activities that are not yet part of the mainstream culture such as Kayaking and Skateboarding. When a skateboarder sees his or her peer promoting a brand, he or she is more likely to trust the product than when he or she sees a celebrity promoting it.
Demands and Demography
While India has few of the best sportsmen and sportswomen in the world, the number of people who peruse sports as a full-time vocation is pretty small. Most people who engage in sports activities do so as a hobby. Decathlon does a good job reaching out to hobbyists.
Their target audience consists of students and young people. They also target beginners and people who would like to pick up a new hobby through their free workshops and classes. Moreover, the store allows sports enthusiasts to try their hands at basketball, skating, skateboarding, and even trampoline gymnastics before they decide to invest in it.
One would expect a sports store to focus on young people. Decathlon, however, makes sure it does not leave out older generations from their marketing strategy completely. They ensure they include several low impact sports equipment such as walking shoes, yoga equipment, etc.
The Natural Environment
Decathlon’s marketing strategy is not just well adjusted to its social environment, it is also well adjusted to its natural environment. The company promotes its swimming equipment more in summer. Furthermore, the equipment it sells also depends on geographical factors. For example, while a store near the ocean would hold more events related to watersports, a store located in a mountainous region may promote mountain biking and longboarding and a store located in Chennai would promote kayaking in the mangroves.
Thus Decathlon, a French brand has been able to establish itself as a local name across India by understanding its target audience and reaching out to it.
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