Decathlon started looking for a buyer for business in Russia

Decathlon started looking for a buyer for the business in Russia.

The French company for the production and sale of sports goods Decathlon is going to leave the Russian market and has begun searching for buyers of assets. This is not an official announcement, but information received by the Russian media from their sources in the market. At the same time, it is reported that Decathlon intends to sell the entire business and separately real estate. Currently, judging by the data posted on the company's website, it has 28 stores left in the Russian Federation, while in the spring of 2022 there were 57.

In March, the management announced the suspension of activities in Russia, the temporary closure of stores in order to comply with sanctions restrictions. At the same time, Decathlon in an official statement promised to support 2.5 thousand Russian employees. Until the end of June, 18 Decathlon hypermarkets in Moscow and St. Petersburg still continued to operate, but on the 26th, all retail outlets and the online store stopped working due to logistics difficulties. All operations of the company in Russia were put on pause.

In the Russian Federation, Decathlon has 20 stand-alone hypermarkets and two legal entities, one sells and has lease agreements, the other has real estate. The company's assets are estimated at about one and a half dozen billion rubles.

The company owns large-format objects, and since it entered the Russian market quite late (the network came to the Russian Federation only in 2006), they are not always well located. Therefore, there may be problems with the sale of assets, especially in their entirety. Another IKEA retailer is in a similar situation and has been unable to find a buyer for its business since August 2022. In addition, all transactions for the sale of foreign assets by owners from unfriendly countries (France is one of the unfriendly countries) are now coordinated with a special commission in the Ministry of Finance, approval can only be obtained if a discount of at least 50% of the price determined by the results of an expert assessment is provided. .

Decathlon is engaged not only in sales, but also in the development of products for more than 70 sports. The company is part of the Mulliez Family Association, which also owns Auchan and Leroy Merlin hypermarkets. Auchan and Leroy Merlin continue to operate in the Russian Federation despite sanctions restrictions, all stores are open and operating as usual.

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