MONTEREY, Calif. (BRAIN) — Decathlon, said to be the world's largest sporting goods retailer and a major global supplier of bicycles, is now offering its bike lines to U.S. IBDs for the first time, showing them here in a large display at the Sea Otter Classic.
Decathlon made a move to establish its large-format sporting goods stores in the U.S. in 2018. Last year, it closed its two U.S. stores and began sales of its products through its own e-commerce site and third-party sites including Walmart and Target.
Now its bike products are being offered wholesale to speciality retailers in the U.S., as well. "We're here to show our upper-tier bikes to other retailers," said Amy Vanderlin, Decathlon's B2B account manager. She said it was Decathlon's first appearance at Sea Otter. Vanderlin said Decathlon currently has one inside sales rep focused on bike sales to specialty dealers.
All the Decathlon bikes are designed in-house by its French design team. The bikes on display include Van Rysel and Riverside brand road and gravel bikes and Rockrider mountain bikes. On the mountain bike side, Decathlon sponsors U.S. cross-country champion Savilia Blunk, who is at Sea Otter this week.
A highlight in the Decathlon booth is the $3,999 Riverside gravel bike with an Italian-made titanium frame. The bike is spec'd with Shimano GRX components.
