Decathlon Sports India plans to more than double its running sports business over the next four years, lifting a segment that currently generates slightly less than Rs 500 crore to a targeted Rs 1,000 crore-plus.

The plan comes from CEO Sankar Chatterjee, who also said the company expects high double-digit sales growth in the ongoing fiscal year. That combination — an ambitious category expansion and an above-trend revenue forecast — sets a concrete benchmark for one of India's largest sports goods retailers and, by extension, for the vendors who supply it.

What the numbers signal for suppliers

The running category at Decathlon India spans footwear, apparel and accessories. A doubling of that business implies a parallel scaling of sourcing volumes across those lines over the four-year horizon. For apparel and footwear vendors already in the company's supply chain — and for those bidding to enter it — the target translates into a material increase in order books, provided Decathlon India executes on its growth plan.

Chatterjee's stated expectation of high double-digit growth in the current fiscal suggests the expansion is not a distant aspiration but one underpinned by momentum already visible in the business. The Rs 500 crore running segment sits close to a tenth of the scale the company is aiming for, giving suppliers a baseline from which to model capacity requirements.

Category focus as a sourcing signal

Running is one of the most price-competitive segments in sports retail, with tight margins on both the manufacturing and retail sides. A retailer committing to double a running business typically pairs that with volume growth, sharper cost engineering and faster product refresh cycles. Vendors positioned to deliver at scale — with the capacity, certifications and lead-time discipline that large-format retailers demand — stand to gain the most from the shift.

For Indian manufacturers, the announcement is also a channel signal. Decathlon operates through a mix of large-format stores and its own retail infrastructure in India, and category-level growth of this magnitude flows directly through to production planning. Suppliers making running footwear, performance apparel and technical accessories should read the Rs 1,000 crore figure as an intention, not a confirmed order book — but one articulated by the CEO with a defined four-year timeline.

Intentions versus confirmed results

The distinction matters. Decathlon India has confirmed two things: the current running segment generates just under Rs 500 crore, and the company aims to double it within four years. The high double-digit growth projection for the ongoing fiscal is an expectation stated by management, not a measured result. Suppliers and industry observers will want to watch quarterly and annual disclosures for evidence that the trajectory is holding.

What the announcement does establish is where the company intends to concentrate investment. Category targets of this kind usually come with supporting moves — retail expansion, product range broadening, deeper local sourcing — although the company has not detailed these in the announcement. The absence of specifics on how the doubling will be achieved leaves open questions about which levers — store count, unit volumes, price points or category mix — will carry the growth.

The road ahead

Decathlon India's running push will be measured against that Rs 1,000 crore milestone over the next four fiscal years, with the current year's high double-digit growth expectation serving as the first checkpoint on whether the target remains on track.