The French group launches its first boutique in sub-Saharan Africa, online in Côte d’Ivoire
Decathlon, the French network of innovative retail chain and brands, providing high-quality and affordable sport equipment, is making today an historical entrance on the Ivorian retail market. The company is launching in Côte d’Ivoire, its first ever boutique in the whole sub-Saharan Africa region, through a 100% online shop (www.jumia.ci/boutique-decathlon/) on Jumia, the number one e-commerce platform in the country.
Renowned for the quality of its technical products at unbeatable prices, Decathlon designs and distributes its products through its own brands (Passion brands): Kipsta, Domyos, Kalenji, B’twin … with the aim of making sport accessible. These passion brands and their products are intently developed by the Decathlon teams and have been rewarded several times for their quality and innovation (Innovation Awards).
The boutique on Jumia is the first of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa for the company. For now, it will propose a first range of products in limited stocks (shoes, bicycles, clothing, fitness equipment, etc.). This test will enable the company to identify needs and expectations of the Ivorian consumers.
This historic and bold collaboration between the two companies brings to the Ivorian market a completely new offer, reinforcing Jumia’s position on the sporting goods segment. For Decathlon, the strategic choice of a dedicated Shop in Shop on Jumia, allows a rapid launch of a single store available throughout Côte d’Ivoire; bypassing most of the logistical and operational constraints that brick and mortar installations implicate.
“Jumia is the launch pad for all major brands such as Decathlon that wish to enter the Ivorian market. Our platform is designed to efficiently meet their marketing, logistics, after-sales, requirements” said Francis Dufay, Managing Director of Jumia Côte d’Ivoire. “For these brands, our efforts aim to create a faster, qualified and inexpensive option. This in turn, allows our customers to have quick access to a wide range of genuine products at competitive prices” he said.
Decathlon in numbers:
A workforce of 63,000 people in 26 countries, 971 shops, 20 Passion brands and a turnover of 8.2 billion Euros in 2014 (source: Corporate.Decathlon.com).
