Decathlon quality etc

Closest I have is lycra bike shorts and they're o.k. so half-decent to even quite good. A huge amount of my daily wear is Decathlon. T-shirts, socks, underwear, bike gear, shorts, pants, swim wear, trekking poles, no shoes currently. Disclaimer: None bought in Canada (China, Thailand, Malaysia, Italy and o course France). My wife and I also have accumulated a good collection of hot pink self-storing duffle bags. Hot pink because that was the colour on sale (€6) outside La Rochelle. Makes it easy to spot at luggage claim too.

I have never seen or heard of this brand. Where is it sold?

Becks wrote: ↑ I have never seen or heard of this brand. Where is it sold?

Own brand in Decathlon shops (none in Canada west of Toronto/Hamilton though they're recruiting for Calgary) in a lot of the world and they sell few if any non-inhouse brands. Actually, there's little sold under "Decathlon" brand. There's a brand for every sport so Nabaji (or something like that) is for swimming, Quechua is hiking/trekking, Kalanji is running, Wedze for downhill skiing, Inovik for X-C skiing, Oroks for ice hockey, Domjos for yoga/fitness....

It's a French outfit owned by the Mulliez family) who own, among other things the Auchan supermarket chain in France.

You've heard of haute couture clothing wth purveyors such as Chanel, Yves St Laurent, Hermes, Pierre Cardin, Givenchy and the like. Décathlon is not just sports gear/wear but the purveyor of basse couture to France: You'll see a lot of people in France outside of Paris wearing Décathlon stuff as their every day wear probably even in Michelin-rated restaurants at least for lunch).

https://www.decathlon.ca/en/

Decathlon is excellent. They make most if not all of the sports clothing and gear themselves. I shop there all the time when i'.m in france and the prices are lower than their stores here which are still good, they've opened a few stores in quebec and canada and US. they're all over the world. the reason they are so successful is that they have their own designs that rival mid to top tier brands like columbia and north face. they have sports gear for many sports including horse riding scuba, etc. Don.t be fooled by the lower prices. its the only place you can find technical gear designed in europe and generally very good quality for a lot less that nike or other brands. i've seen pretty good reviews of their best tennis rackets , they have different price levels for shoes for all kinds of sports and hiking and camping gear. they have ping pong paddles and balls, etc. bikes, bike parts, scooters, helmets, hard to find stuff, saling and windsurfing stuff etc. If MEC made everything themselves and lowered their prices 50%, they would be like decathlon (for outdoor and hiking gear anyways). MEC was affordable when I shopped there 20 years ago for their house brand stuff, their prices went crazy, and now they sell a lot of expensive brands like other stores like sports experts/atmosphere/sport chek, SAIL (in bankruptcy)

Picking up two pairs of leggings today. I'll update with comments then.

FWIW 'shipping' time to the local store was only a couple of days.

marcrobert wrote: ↑ Decathlon is excellent. They make most if not all of the sports clothing and gear themselves. I shop there all the time when i'.m in france and the prices are lower than their stores here which are still good, they've opened a few stores in quebec and canada and US. they're all over the world.

. If MEC made everything themselves and lowered their prices 50%, they would be like decathlon (for outdoor and hiking gear anyways). MEC was affordable when I shopped there 20 years ago for their house brand stuff,

Which allows them to spread their design/R&D costs, as well as supervise/inspect production. Scale/size helps! Not so easy for an outfit that stays in Canada with its small volume.

Interestingly, Decathlon apparently tried to enter the U.S. market years ago but failed (they can pull out quickly and relatively cheaply). This current entry into N. America may have started in Mexico (retail opened up there before U.S. and Canadian retail started). Canada started in 2017-18 and the U.S. (re)started in about the same time frame with mainly mail-order supported by exactly two retail shops in the San Francisco area. Looks like no further retail openings to match against Amazon.

Good quality and low prices. What's not to like?

I have some t-shirts, athletic shorts, shoes and microfiber towels from them that have lasted serveral years and are still going.

Following up:

Sizes are true to North American expectations. My CV ski leggings are pretty good, warm but I didn't realize they had ventilation. Not unreasonable for XC skiing but not great for walking the dog if it's windy.

My wife's fleece tights were pretty good if basic.

Overall well worth the cost.

Decathlon is always one of our must-shop places whenever we're in Budapest, which is typically every 3 years or so. They carry several lines of varying quality with prices to match. We like the Domyos line. Even with Hungarian sales tax rate a whopping 27% (built into the price) it is still a good deal. If they open up in Vancouver (MEC's buildings look like perfect locations for them) I'll definitely shop there.

Kiraly wrote: ↑ If they open up in Vancouver (MEC's buildings look like perfect locations for them) I'll definitely shop there.

Too high rent, I suspect. Dead/dying mall would sit them much better (Lansdowne Mall in Richmond comes to mind or maybe Brentwood Mall in Burnaby).

FWIW, if you've ever had an account (or loyalty card), you can use it in Canada. Even has all the purchases you've made. Didn't even have to create a new account to log into the.ca site; the one I created on the .fr one works.

thriftshopper wrote: ↑ Too high rent, I suspect. Dead/dying mall would sit them much better (Lansdowne Mall in Richmond comes to mind or maybe Brentwood Mall in Burnaby).

They're going into the old Sears store here, I'm stunned that they want that much space as it's two floors.

Sum_guy wrote: ↑ They're going into the old Sears store here, I'm stunned that they want that much space as it's two floors.

Is there any printed news for that, or is Burlington "your" location? Maybe got it cheap given it's been sitting empty. Seems the format is different in Canada with places to try out equipment (unlike the bare-bones format I'm more familiar with in Asia and Europe (shopped Decathlon in 5 or countries but haven't stepped into a shop in Canada).

This is what the inside of their stores typically look like:



Displays are all collapsible and easy to set up or take down). They can probably set up and move in, or out, within a week.

New: 100 PCO pts per $1 spent

https://www.realcanadiansuperstore.ca/decathlon

thriftshopper wrote: ↑ New: 100 PCO pts per $1 spent

https://www.realcanadiansuperstore.ca/decathlon

Sold and shipped by Decathlon Canada? Is this a new thing, RCSS turning into Amazon or Best Buy?

Kiraly wrote: ↑ Sold and shipped by Decathlon Canada? Is this a new thing, RCSS turning into Amazon or Best Buy?

Maybe some new retail partnership (pick up your order at RCSS). I've noticed that at least in Thailand, Decathlon shops tend to appear in locations where there is a Tesco Lotus supermarket (not necessarily even adjoining but close to each other). Perhaps a strategy to create mutually-beneficial magnet shopping?

Ordered some Decathlon stuff - 1st time in Canada to get free shipping (delivered on a Sunday by Rivo/Air Canada). Have to say that while the prices (for my staples) are higher than in Europe and Asia (last in shop trip was over 2 years ago), the quality appears to be different and hopefully improved.

The value is very good with this brand.

For example: if you need a road bike, this one is a good value
review: https://www.bikeradar.com/reviews/bikes ... sc-review/
https://www.decathlon.ca/en/endurance/3 ... ID=2710882

They sell outdoor/active clothes. A lot of folks buying from them, especially the outdoors stuff, are keen on knowing materials, cuts, details etc and the Decathalon website is a trainwreck woefully devoid of basic info and is hard to navigate.

In reading various activity discussion boards you also should know many of their clothes are sized on the small side (NA folks are generally bigger).

When I first went on their site over the winter it looks like they just ported over their global site to Canada as a placeholder but I would equate their ease of use for their site with the Bay - super clunky and minimal/non meaningful content info.

I did end up buying a shell and some pants. Their stuff is value made/priced stuff and is a step or two down from the top tier brands.

But someone going on one short camping or hiking trip a year probably are completely happy with a $50 Decathalon shell and a $400 Arcteryx is just overkill.

tedrowse wrote: ↑ Their stuff is value made/priced stuff and is a step or two down from the top tier brands.

But someone going on one short camping or hiking trip a year probably are completely happy with a $50 Decathalon shell and a $400 Arcteryx is just overkill.

Exactly. It ain't the best but it's affordable and good enough for most, especially if you're not into paying for brand name premium.

As for size, they have a chart with guide for actual measurements as their stuff is made for a global market. I bought a pair of swim briefs and i am kind of tickled that I am a L (my old pair bought in Europe or Asia - same measurement is M/L which doesn't exist now).