Decathlon confirmed it supplied goods to Russia after leaving the country

French sporting goods chain Decathlon confirmed that it supplied a limited amount of products to Russia after completing a deal to sell its assets. The company explained that this was to help the buyer of the business get its operations up and running while preserving jobs.

What exactly and in what volumes was supplied is not specified. “To complete the transaction, it was decided, in accordance with current local and international regulations, to supply a limited number of products for a limited period of time,” Decathlon’s press service told RIA Novosti.

The day before, AFP, citing internal company documents and its former employees, reported that Decathlon “engaged an extensive system of concealing its exports” to Russia. According to the agency, the cost of the shipments was at least $12 million. The network allegedly used “a front company in Dubai and a subsidiary in Singapore” to send the goods.

Decathlon suspended operations in Russia in March 2022. At the time of its exit from the market, the French chain had 57 stores across the country. At the end of July 2023, the Ministry of Industry and Trade reportedthat the chain has found a buyer for all its stores in Russia – the Russian company ARM (owns Mango franchises). At the end of November at the Decathlon site in the Aviapark shopping center in Moscow opened the first Desport store, and in the same month the store of the same name earned in the Leningrad region. In the beginning of December passed opening a store in Perm.

Laura Keffer