Price increase! Decathlon has quietly transformed, and with the change of its logo, it will no longer be the "bargain hunters' paradise"!

Once the sports industry's clear stream, which insisted on "reflecting every penny saved on the price tag," has now "backstabbed" its consumers. With the transformation of 1,700 stores, its ambition for "consumer upgrading" is blatantly obvious.

"Decathlon for the undecided," relying on its extremely high cost-performance ratio, has won over many loyal users in China.

"Bargain hunters' paradise," "good value for money," "rest assured to buy," "straight men's heaven," and so on, are the labels that old customers have attached to it.

However, this year, old users are a bit confused.

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They have noticed that Decathlon seems to have changed; the prices are not as affordable. Not only have the prices of individual items increased significantly, but the proportion of high-priced goods is also growing higher and higher.

Many consumers have lamented: "The more I buy, the more expensive it gets!"

Decathlon is a unique presence in the sports goods industry, pursuing "the lowest gross margin" and "small profits but quick turnover." Against the backdrop of a cold market for sports goods sales in 2022, its sales have once again reached a new high, amounting to 15.4 billion euros.All along, Decathlon has taken "frugality" as the key to its business, giving people the impression of an affordable marketplace, to the extent that everyone has overlooked its origin from the second-largest financial group in France.

Behind Decathlon stands the French Mulliez family, a super family with a century-long history, generations of farming, and breaking the "wealth doesn't last beyond three generations" stereotype.

In 1900, a small textile factory marked the beginning of the family's business endeavors. After weathering the trials of two world wars, it gradually grew, expanding into various fields such as retail, sports equipment, decorative building materials, and chain restaurants.

Currently, the family consists of thousands of members, employs over 500,000 people, and has an annual turnover exceeding 70 billion euros.

The family's low-profile and simple characteristics are also reflected in their business operations. With "high cost-performance ratio," "wide selection," and "high-quality service," their retail enterprise Auchan has become a retail giant in France.

In the 1970s of the last century, with the development of the economy and the popularization of sports, "Decathlon" was born in an Auchan supermarket in the northern French city of Lille.

Decathlon is built upon the family's retail experience and wisdom.

It offers a wide selection: bringing together equipment for all age groups and sports, and operates through a self-service sales model.

It has a high cost-performance ratio: "Instead of trying to get customers to spend a lot at once, it guides and cultivates customers' consumption concepts and sports habits, fostering a habit of shopping at Decathlon."

It provides excellent service: "To give customers the pleasure of purchasing" and "to let customers experience the joy of sports."In order to provide customers with a better shopping experience, Decathlon adopts a "scenario-based" display method for its products, arranging related items in virtual sports scenes.

For instance, items such as waterproof phone pouches and swimming goggles are displayed within a swimming scene. Decathlon also applies retail industry strategies to the sale of sports equipment, placing high-volume, low-priced items like snacks and beverages at the checkout aisles to increase visibility and convenience for impulse purchases.

Furthermore, products are categorized based on consumers' skill levels in sports, such as "beginners," "regular exercisers," and "professional athletes," which greatly facilitates the purchasing process for customers.

Of course, "high cost-performance ratio" is the key to its significant market share in China. For example, a pair of men's running shoes might cost only one-tenth of the price of brands like Adidas, yet still meet the functional requirements.

This is attributed to its long-standing strategy of minimum profit margins, as well as its integrated business model that encompasses research and development, design, production, logistics, and retail.

"Every step is about considering cost savings," and every cent saved is "reflected in the price tags."

"Decathlon thinks about how to sell products at the lowest possible price."

In the sports equipment industry, Decathlon is indeed a breath of fresh air, which is the main reason why consumers think of "Decathlon" first when faced with difficult choices.

However, recently, Decathlon, known as a "paradise for the budget-conscious," has quietly raised its prices.A long-time Decathlon customer has noticed that the brand's price increases are becoming increasingly evident, especially in outdoor equipment. The two pairs of outdoor mountaineering shoes she purchased in 2022, which were originally priced at 299 and 349 yuan, have risen to 399 and 349 yuan, respectively, without any discounts. In fact, Decathlon's CEO has also publicly expressed the desire for brand upgrading: "In 2023, the world is facing unprecedented challenges. For the consideration of long-term development, Decathlon needs to upgrade its brand." "To touch people with sports miracles" is the new brand purpose launched by Decathlon in March this year, which is accompanied by a complete set of brand upgrading plans, such as the "North Star" strategy and the new "Orbit" logo. In this strategy, the phrase "simplicity is the ultimate pursuit" is thought-provoking. "80 brands are too scattered and have a lot of repetition." Previously, Decathlon had up to 80 brands under its umbrella. This streamlining action has organized and optimized them into 9 major sports categories. Among them, the 4 major professional brands have also made bold transformations, moving towards a more professional direction. With the change in content, the image naturally needs to change, and the replacement of the logo, as the representative of the image, is imperative. On March 12, Decathlon announced a global brand refresh, with the release of the new royal blue "Orbit" logo, and the store signs have also changed from blue signs to dark gray backgrounds, marking the official transformation of Decathlon's image."We need to enrich our brand image, and we hope to no longer be seen as a retailer, but to be regarded as a professional sports brand."

From a mass-market retail brand to a specialized sports brand, this is a significant leap, and it implies that Decathlon will no longer be considered "budget-friendly."

In fact, Decathlon has been contemplating a high-end strategy for quite some time.

Decathlon's stores not only sell their own brand but also act as distributors for some high-end sports brands, such as the badminton benchmark Yonex, the running shoe king ASICS, and the NBA in basketball...

This inclusiveness not only gives customers more choices but also makes their customer base more accepting of higher price points.

It has to be said that this forward-looking strategy, like the first move in a game of Go, is often the key to the success or failure of the game.

When positioning itself as "sports retail," Decathlon attracted many high-net-worth customers by introducing high-end brands.

With these high-spending customers as a foundation, Decathlon's transformation becomes much easier.

Some say that the "poor man's paradise" thrives due to consumer downgrading, but upgrading consumption is extremely difficult.

This may not apply to Decathlon, as its upgrade and transformation are not without foundation. In addition to the high-price customer base accumulated from the previous inclusive layout, Decathlon has also made many preparations for the transformation.Firstly, transformation does not mean that Decathlon has abandoned its affordable advantage. Recently, Decathlon's brand upgrade will be gradually promoted in 1,700 stores worldwide, with its own high-end products replacing a large part of the introduced brands. In addition to the price adjustment of more professional products that have increased their professionalism and technological content, a considerable part of the products still maintain their original price advantage. In other words, Decathlon wants to walk on two legs, providing customers with more choices, not only offering high cost-performance products but also high professional products. Secondly, it is the investment in professional research and development, supporting the success of new special types with more professional and higher quality. For example, in the launch of Decathlon's outdoor products in April this year, five "inside stories" that can make consumers pay were highlighted: professional design, refined process, daily innovation, ecological materials, and professional cooperation. In other words, Decathlon is driving price upgrades with professional upgrades. In the face of many competitive pressures such as the rise in raw material prices, it is relatively easy for Decathlon to "stab consumers in the back." In contrast, Adidas, which stabs consumers in the back in terms of quality, is a bit hard to let go. While Decathlon's consumption upgrade is hotly discussed, Adidas is also facing a storm of "stabbing" consumers.Adidas is facing issues that Decathlon is upgrading: reduced quality and inferior materials. As a global high-end sports brand, Adidas originally enjoyed a high level of trust among consumers, and has always been known for its quality and design. However, recently it has disappointed many consumers.

Numerous consumers have reported quality issues with Adidas products, including the use of inferior materials that lead to a short lifespan and poor user experience. What's more disheartening for consumers is that when they raise these issues, they are not given the attention they deserve.

In the face of consumer complaints, Adidas not only fails to address the problems proactively but also tends to evade and deny the issues. Consumers perceive this as a lack of care and respect from the brand, which has significantly damaged the trust and goodwill Adidas once had among consumers.

This issue arises due to rising raw material costs, fierce market competition, and high inventory pressure. Adidas is unwilling to forgo high profits and also does not want to lose market share, leading to unwise decisions.

In addition, negative news such as "fraudulent lowest price promotion," "backstabbing consumers," and "customer service refusing to refund price differences" are also emerging continuously.

Faced with similar issues, Decathlon has chosen to raise prices in response, and other brands like Anta and Nike have also taken the same measure, which can be said to be a forced move due to the situation.

There is an ironclad rule in this world: the only constant is change itself.Thus, although Decathlon is labeled as a "paradise for the budget-conscious," it does not mean that it cannot change, after all, change is the way of survival and development. It is believed that consumers can also accept change. Decathlon already has a high-priced customer base, and after recognizing the professional upgrade of Decathlon's products, maintaining their previous purchasing inertia is not difficult. Customers who did not have a high-priced consumption habit before, with the improvement of consumption ability or the improvement of sports professionalism, will also choose more professional high-priced products. It doesn't matter if customers do not accept high prices, Decathlon has not completely given up high cost-performance products. In the beginner series, they can find suitable products. Decathlon's consumer upgrade transformation this time is a well-prepared battle. After consumers realize the change, they will gradually accept Decathlon's backstab. Perhaps, Decathlon will no longer be a "paradise for the budget-conscious," but this transformation will undoubtedly expand its customer base and give it more development space. At the same time, the price increase has not made Decathlon lose its high cost-performance nature, after all, the performance is also improving while the price is increasing. Although the price is not cheap, the quality is good, and it is still that "paradise for straight men."