BUSINESS – Decathlon acquires Alltricks

According to Les Echos, the Decathlon group has taken control of Alltricks, a French start-up specializing in the online sale of cycling and running equipment, and the originator of several rapidly developing in-house brands.

This is an advantage for both parties: Decathlon thus expands its market coverage by reaching more high-end products, and Alltricks can also accelerate its growth, which involves a presence in physical stores. 

By focusing primarily on its internally developed brands (such as B’Twin, Van Rysel, Kalenji for example), Decathlon has moved away from a segment of consumer demand, namely the most demanding consumers.

Alltricks already collaborates with all the major cycling, running, and accessory brands, and will thus allow the giant Decathlon to indirectly expand its offering by competing with specialized distributors.

Another advantage for Alltricks: developing its own brands (Neatt, Le Bram, Marcel Pignon, Scamp) by benefiting from Decathlon’s expertise in terms of research and development.

Thanks to Decathlon’s presence in 55 countries (315 stores in France), these are new prospects for Alltricks.

Alltricks founder and CEO (65 million euros in revenue in 2018) Gary Anssens retains a significant share of the capital and is expected to remain at the head of the company for several years.