Table of Contents

SL . NO CONTENTS PAGE NO.

1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1

2 INTRODUCTION 2

2.1. INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

2.1.1 P OLICY
2.1.2 M AJOR INDIAN PLAYERS
2.1.3. C ASH AND CARRY
2.1.4. M AJOR F OREIGN PLAYERS

2.2. COMPANY OVERVIEW

2.2.1 V ALUES
2.2.2 A DVANTAGES AT DECATHLON
2.2.3 T HE STORES AT D ECATHLON
2.2.4 BRANDS
2.2.5 O RGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
2.2.6 CRITERIA FOR MEMBERSHIP
2.2.7 Q UALITATIVE ANALYSIS - SWOT A NALYSIS

3 PROJECT PROFILE 20

4 METHODOLOGY 21

5 ANALYSIS 23
5.1 RELATION BUYER- N ON -BUYER AND MEMBER - NON- M EMBER
5.2 V ISITING FREQUENCY
5.3 C ONVENIENCE OF LOCATION
5.4 PRODUCT RELATED ATTRIBUTES
5.5 S ERVICE RELATED ATTRIBUTES
5.6. SIGNAGES
5.7 A WARENESS ABOUT THE EVENTS AND I N –STORE ACTIVITIES
5.8 H OW DID THE CUSTOMERS KNOW ABOUT THE DSI S TORE ?
5.9 H OW DO THE C USTOMERS W ANT TO RECEIVE COMMUNICATION ?
5.10 OVERALL SHOPPING EXPERIENCE OF THE C USTOMERS

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 6 FINDINGS 34

7 STATISTICAL ANALYSIS 35

7.1 F ACTOR ANALYSIS

7.1.1 S TATISTICS ASSOCIATED W ITH FACTOR ANALYSIS

7.2 SPSS O UTPUTS AND ANALYSIS

7.2.1 HYPOTHESES
7.2.2 CORRELATIONS MATRIX
7.2.3 DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS
7.2.4 KMO A ND B ARTLETT'S TEST
7.2.5. C OMMUNALITIES
7.2.6 T OTAL V ARIANCE EXPLAINED
7.2.7. C OMPONENT MATRIX (A)
7.2.8 R OTATED COMPONENT MATRIX (A)
7.2.9. C OMPONENT TRANSFORMATION MATRIX

8 FINDINGS F ROM STATISTICAL ANALYSIS 41

9 RECOMMENDATIONS 42

10 LEARNING OUTCOME 44

1 Executive Summary

The project analyzes the Customer Satisfaction levels at Decathlon Sports India
Private Limited (DSI) and tries to identify some factors responsible for the purchase decisions
of the customers.

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 A survey was conducted among 400 respondents, over a span of two months, to
analyse the Customer Satisfaction. Since the company functions on the basis of SELL TO
MEMBERS only concept, the questionnaire designed analysed satisfaction levels of members
as well as non-members who visited the store, purchased the products, and their overall
experience at the store. The survey was conducted to check and understand the customer
needs regarding the products, events and organization. The factors which affected customer
purchase decision most widely are product quality, price, variety and display. The service
related attributes identified are speed of billing and courteousness of the store staff. The most
influential factors on purchase decision are identified as a part of the analysis.

Decathlon does not advertise and thus it depends strongly on word of mouth. And so it
treats the customer recommendations and suggestions with highest priority and utmost
seriousness. Decathlon makes its presence felt through events and thus the event suggestions
given by customers in the questionnaire will be taken into consideration and implemented at
the earliest. Through this questionnaire the suggestions were captured.

The DECATHLON store consists of various passion brands. All these brands were
understood in detail as a part of the project to explain to the customers regarding the
philosophy of the store. The questionnaire also captured the negative points of the brands and
areas in which they would like to see an improvement.

A feedback process was designed to be implemented at DECATHLON. Because a

customer is the most important asset and every comment made by the customer is taken with
utmost seriousness. Thus a feedback process is very important, and has been implemented.

2 Introduction

2.1. INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

“Retailing is one of the pillars of the economy in India and accounts for 35% of GDP”

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 The retail industry is divided into organized and unorganized sectors. Over 12 million
outlets operate in the country and only 6% of them being larger than 500 sq ft (46 m2) in size.
Organized retailing refers to trading activities undertaken by licensed retailers, that is, those
who are registered for sales tax, income tax, etc. These include the corporate-
backed hypermarkets and retail chains, and also the privately owned large retail businesses.
Unorganized retailing, on the other hand, refers to the traditional formats of low-cost
retailing, for example, the local kirana shops, owner manned general stores, paan/beedi shops,
convenience stores, hand cart and pavement vendors, etc.

Most Indian shopping takes place in open markets and millions of independent
grocery shops called kirana. Organized retail such supermarkets accounts for just 6% of the
market as of 2009. Regulations prevent most foreign investment in retailing. Moreover, over
thirty regulations such as "signboard licenses" and "anti-hoarding measures" may have to be
complied before a store can open doors. There are taxes for moving goods to states, from
states, and even within states.

An increasing number of people in India are turning to the services sector for
employment due to the relative low compensation offered by the traditional agriculture and
manufacturing sectors. The organized retail market is growing at 35 percent annually while
growth of unorganized retail sector is pegged at 6 percent.

The Retail Business in India is currently at the point of inflection. Rapid change with
investments to the tune of US $ 25 billion is being planned by several Indian
and multinational companies in the next 5 years. It is a huge industry in terms of size and
according to management consulting firm Technopak Advisors Pvt. Ltd., it is valued at about
US $ 350 billion. Organised retail is expected to garner about 16-18 percent of the total retail
market (US $ 65-75 billion) in the next 5 years.

India has topped the A.T. Kearney’s annual Global Retail Development Index (GRDI)
for the third consecutive year, maintaining its position as the most attractive market for retail
investment. The Indian economy has registered a growth of 8% for 2007. The predictions for
2008 is 7.9%.The enormous growth of the retail industry has created a huge demand for real
estate. Property developers are creating retail real estate at an aggressive pace and by 2010,
300 malls are estimated to be operational in the country.

With over 1,000 hypermarkets and 3,000 supermarkets projected to come up by 2011,

India will need additional retail space of 700,000,000 sq ft (65,000,000 m2) as compared to
today. Current projections on construction point to a supply of just 200,000,000 sq ft

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(19,000,000 m2), leaving a gap of 500,000,000 sq ft (46,000,000 m2) that needs to be filled, at
a cost of US$15–18 billion.

According to the Icrier report, the retail business in India is estimated to grow at 13%
from $322 billion in 2006-07 to $590 billion in 2011-12. The unorganized retail sector is
expected to grow at about 10% per annum with sales expected to rise from $ 309 billion in
2006-07 to $ 496 billion in 2011-12.

Fig 2.1

2.1.1 POLICY

o 100% FDI is allowed in Cash and Carry Wholesale formats. Franchisee arrangements are
also permitted in retail trade

o 51% FDI is allowed in single brand retailing

o The government is examining further liberalisation of FDI in retail trade

2.1.2 MAJOR INDIAN PLAYERS

Indian apparel retailers are increasing their brand presence overseas, particularly in
developed markets. While most have identified a gap in countries in West Asia and Africa,
some majors are also looking at the US and Europe. Arvind Brands, Madura Garments,
Spykar Lifestyle and Royal Classic Polo are busy chalking out foreign expansion plans
through the distribution route and standalone stores as well. Another denim wear brand,
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Spykar, which is now moving towards becoming a casualwear lifestyle brand, has launched
its store in Melbourneand London.

The low-intensity entry of the diversified Mahindra Group into retail is unique
because it plans to focus on lifestyle products. The Mahindra Group is the fourth large Indian
business group to enter the business of retail after Reliance Industries Ltd, the Aditya Birla
Group, and Bharti Enterprises Ltd. The other three groups are focusing either on perishables
and groceries, or a range of products, or both.

Fig.2.2

2.1.3. CASH AND CARRY

Cash and carry  represents a type of operation within the wholesale sector. Its main
features are summarized best by the following definitions:

The Cash and carry concept was originally thought up and created by Lawrence

Batley from Huddersfield.

Cash and carry is a form of trade in which goods are sold from a wholesale warehouse
operated either on a self-service basis, or on the basis of samples (with the customer
selecting from specimen articles using a manual or computerized ordering system but
not serving himself) or a combination of the two. Customers (retailers, professional
users, caterers, institutional buyers, etc.) settle the invoice on the spot and in cash, and
carry the goods away themselves.

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 Though wholesalers buy primarily from manufacturers and sell mostly to retailers,
industrial users and other wholesalers, they also perform many value added functions.
The wholesaler, an intermediary, is used based on principles of specialisation and
division of labour as well as contractual efficiency. (OECD -Organisation for
Economic Cooperation and Development).
There are significant differences between "classical" sales at the wholesale stage and
the cash and carry wholesaler: These differences are based in particular on the fact
that customers of the cash and carry wholesaler arrange the transport of the goods
themselves and pay for the goods in cash and not on credit. 

In a retail context, the term has a similar meaning: customers pay cash for the goods they
purchase (the retailer does not offer credit accounts) and carry them away themselves (the
retailer does not offer delivery service).

2.1.4. MAJOR FOREIGN PLAYERS

Major retail players like Walmart, Tommy Hilfiger, Carrefour, Marks &
Spencer, Nike, etc. are going to foray into the booming retail industry in India. Indian
fashion industry would see the advent of fashion brand DKNY through a franchisee
agreement with S. Kumar's. In the food & beverages sector, McDonald's is going to
penetrate the markets through 100 new outlets across the country. Encouraged by the huge
success of Pizza Hut, McDonald's, and Dominos, another organization known as Starbucks
has expressed its interest in opening up outlets in India through franchising. There are
various kinds of restrictions on FDI in the Indian retail sector, but organizations can enter
the industry through Strategic License agreements, Franchising and Cash and carry
wholesale trading.

The recent initiatives taken by the government to open up the sector for foreign
players have lured many companies to enter the industry. Big players like Reliance Retail,
Walmart-Bharti combination, Tesco, AV Birla group and Future group are all gearing up for
huge investments and aggressive business strategies. The government is considering the
introduction of multi brand specialty formats like consumer electronics, building, sports
goods and construction and stationery. The government has allowed 51 percent foreign
direct investment (FDI) in single brand retail outlets. Reliance Retail has announced its plan
to open 5000 stores over the next 5 years. Many companies like Lee Cooper, Starbucks and
Walmart have put forward their FDI proposals to the government.
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 At present, the 12 million mom-and-pop and kirana stores dominating the retail
landscape suffer from certain limitations, such as small size of operations, low cost format
and pervasive use of tax evasion techniques. They also suffer from capital shortage, labour
and real estate problems. Some experts believe that the influx of major retail chains would
wipe out millions of these shops. This might leave a lot of people jobless. Legal, political,
infrastructural, cultural and educational constraints would have to be considered if the sector
truly desires to achieve the kind of future it has planned for itself. 

2.2. COMPANY OVERVIEW

Decathlon is a major French sporting goods chain store, with stores located
throughout the world. It started with a shop near Lille, France in 1976. It expanded to
Germany in 1986, Spain in 1992 and the United Kingdom in 1999. It entered the American
market by purchasing the New England 20-store MVP Sports chain in 1999, rebranding them
as Decathlon USA. A restructuring led to all but four Massachusetts locations closing in
2003. In September 2006, Decathlon announced their decisions to exit the US altogether by
year‘s end. The retailer stocks a wide range of sporting goods, from tennis racquets to
advanced scuba diving equipment, usually in large superstores. Decathlon Group also owns
the Toboggan and Decat stores, the former sells sporting goods at discount prices, whilst the
latter is a smaller high street sized version of the larger Decathlon superstores. In 2007 the
group is the largest sporting goods reseller with a turnover of USD 6,123,000. The chain is
one of the few sports manufacturers that makes and sells its own products. Each group of
activities has a separate brand name. They do that by providing world class products both for
enthusiastic beginners as well as passionate professionals at extremely affordable prices.
Decathlon Sports India Pvt Ltd is the first of its kind store in India.

It is a 100 % Foreign Investment. And because of this, DSI is legally restricted to do

retail in India i.e. it can only sell to companies, organizations or societies and cannot sell
directly to the end customer, individually. Since its foundation in 1976, Decathlon has always
had a very clear goal: to make sport more enjoyable for everyone. In every corner of the
globe, this purpose is expressed through two complementary areas of expertise: the design,
manufacture and retailing of sporting goods.

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 Today we employ 30,000 people over 5 continents in more than 400 stores, each
containing an average 35,000 articles. Annually, Decathlon helps millions of customers enjoy
sport from France to China to Brazil and generates a turnover of 35,000 Cr. (5.5 billion
euros).

Decathlon is one of the few sports retailers that also designs, manufactures and sells
its own products. Our designers and engineers work tirelessly to create the best products that
are safe and affordable for everyone. Decathlon's technical partnerships with sportsmen and
women have added a new dimension to our dedication to design. Through these partnerships,
experts in each sport bring their extensive knowledge and stringent requirements to the table,
and our design and development teams then fine-tune each product to perfection. The
company’s concept is to sell multi-brand sports equipment for all sports people, be they
beginners or professionals, under the same roof.

With 65 different sports the 400 Decathlon stores are set up for self-service. In our
aisles, customers can find products ranging in price from entry level to top of the range.
There is also a large choice between well-known international brands and our own in-house
'Passion' brands. Our customers can choose or get help from one of our sales assistants, all
sports enthusiasts themselves. It's a concept that has reached every corner of the globe. The
vision of the organization is given below:

Motto: “Play More, Pay Less”

2.2.1 VALUES

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Sincerity: “We are all about transparency of our actions; amongst ourselves, our customers
and our suppliers... What we say is what we do”.

Vitality: “We are full of energy and enthusiasm for innovation and creation... We constantly
strive to improve things and make things evolve. True to our love of sport... We love action!”

Responsibility & Generosity: “The two go hand-in-hand in the way we manage our teams
and operations all over the world. Our deep sense of responsibility combined with our innate
generosity – in giving back to the community makes us who we are. We are committed”

2.2.2 ADVANTAGES AT DECATHLON

Start to finish: At Decathlon we have an extremely unique advantage that very few sports
goods retailers can boast of. Our team is powered to design, manufacture and sell products
that are technically as superior as they are affordable to all. Our designers and engineers
partner with sportspersons across the world adding a new dimension to the design
process; this coupled with cutting edge technology and innovation delivers products that
are absolute winners. Our focus on various sports-from running to water sports, from
racket sports to adventure, from dancing to horse riding – are delivered by our Passion
Brands encouraging our customers to… PLAY MORE
Practising design team: At the heart of every great product is a great design team. Our
designers are practicing sports people. They are active members of sporting communities
and continually collaborate with sports persons and enthusiasts all over the world. Our
passion brands reflect the time and energy we put into every aspect of out products. Each
passion brand is devoted to a particular field of sport and has dedicated design teams
which are an amalgamation of designers, researchers and engineers motivated by the love
of sport and with a single minded mission – to delight customers with cohesive products.

Technical expertise: Sports are a source of well being and we believe customers’ safety is
in our hands-in the products they use. Different sports have different needs and all our
products are technically competent to meet the highest standards of safety ensuring a
happy sporting experience.

Low prices: Decathlon is present in markets across different countries catering to a

diverse audience – culturally & economically. In keeping with our vision we strive to well
equip people across this wide spectrum in any sport they pursue. We do this by keeping
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 the prices of our products low by innovating at every step of the value network, creating
products that are as superior technically as they are attractive. As a global player, our
enormous scale provides for economies that directly benefit our customers.

We listen: We pay a lot of attention to our customers’ feedback and directly channel that
information into the design of our products. We believe strongly in our “product
evolution” methodology – where we work closely with our customers and this enables us
to ally out product specifications to match customer expectations.

All the above can be compiled in the diagram below:

Fig.2.3.Advantages at Decathlon
(Source:www.decathlon.in)

2.2.3 T HE STORES AT DECATHLON

Our chain of stores created in 1976 heralded the arrival of an unique and pioneering
concept: providing for "all sport under one roof". Our stores showcase the best of what our
passion brands have to offer. We give our customers the freedom to not only choose the
products they intend to buy but also to experience the products before they buy it.
 
Playground: We believe the joy of sport should be experienced without any delay and hence
the playground at the store. The playground blends well with the store in representing a focal
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point were people can discover and play new sport and enjoy the sport they like with family
and friends.

Events: The store and playground also serve as stage where to organize events that showcase
the different sports. These events give our customers the opportunity to get involved more in
the sport they like and gives us an opportunity to engage more deeply with them.

After sales service: Our customer relationship does not end at the cash counter. All our
products come with a faire use warranty and we also have experts who provided technical
advice to the proper use of the product in each sporting category. Sporting equipment like
everything man-made needs to be serviced and in most of our stores we have workshops
staffed by technical experts that cater to this needs.

Play Green: At Decathlon we take our environmental responsibility very seriously - from the
materials we build our stores with, daily functioning of our stores to the packaging we use for
our products - there is a conscious attempt to leave a much lighter footprint on the
environment.
Intelligent use of natural lighting Vs artificial lighting, more natural lighting provided
by roof "sheds".
"Free cooling" the intelligent use of outside air to provide cooling as opposed to air-
conditioning.
Partial recuperation of rain-water in outdoor sprinkler system.
Natural regulation of water flow.
Treatment of drainage-water from car park to remove hydrocarbons.
Parking spaces with vegetation for drainage
We always intend to be the leader and set a benchmark for sustainable development in the
communities we work in.

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 Fig.2.4 Decathlon Store
2.2.4 BRANDS
Decathlon manufactures and sells goods under 14 passion brands in India. The brands
are listed as below:

Aptonia: Deals with nutrition and healthcare for sports people,

before, during and after effort. Consist of products like nutrition
bars, energy drinks, different joint supports like ankle and knee
supports, shoe cushioning insoles, which can be used by all in all
sports.

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Artengo: Deals with all racket sports. It consists of tennis, table-tennis, squash and
Badminton. It consists of rackets, shoes, balls, nets, covers/bags apparels and accessories
related to the above mentioned sports.

B-twin: Deals with everything related to cycling. It consists of

cycles for all types of cyclists and for all types of paths, all the
parts of cycles, cycling gear i.e. clothes worn during cycling,
available in all assembled or spare parts form.

Caperlan: Deals with equipment related to fishing. Consist of

fishing rods, nets, seats, reels for fishing in fresh water, sea water,
lakes, for different styles of fishing like toc fishing, speed fishing,
beach fishing, ideal footwear to wear during fishing, life jackets
etc.

Domyos: Deals with boxing, fitness and yoga. Consist of

products like boxing gloves, punching bags, shorts for boxing,
fitness equipment like still cycles, fitness cube, abdomen
exercise equipment and organic cotton t-shirts and track pants
for fitness and yoga.

Fouganza: Deals with equipment for riding and rider. Consists

of saddles, horse riding shoes, breeches, helmets, strings, horse
nutrition and care products.

Goelogic: Deals with archery equipment and accessories.

Consist of products like strings, bows of different sizes,
arrows, archery pants etc.

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Geonaute: Deals with products which can be used to measure, view, discover and explore the
environment. It consists of things like chronometers, altimeters,
GPS, torches, wrist watches with various features,
goggles/sunglasses for all sports, heart rate measuring meters,
stop watches, travel bags, everyday backpacks to carry laptops,
waist pouches, travel pouches etc. Things which make it easy to
carry travel and work equipment.

Inesis: Deals with golf. Consist of golf clubs, balls, bags, gloves,
putter, caps, trousers and other clothing, ball collectors, carts and
trolleys and other accessories required for golfing etc.

Kalenji: Deals with running and walking. Consist of running and

walking shoes, divided into beginner-intermediate-advanced
running and also divided by different terrain, clothes for training,
socks, caps, bags and other necessary accessories.

Kipsta: Deals with team sports like football, handball, rugby,

basketball, volleyball. Consist of shoes for all the above mentioned
sports, balls, shirts, nets, rings, cages, pumps and all other
accessories needed to play these sports. Recently they have also
added cricket to it as India ia a cricket crazy nation.

Oxelo: Deals with roller skating. Consist of roller blades, skate

boards, scooty’s, helmets and other protection gear necessary,
divided age wise, to be worn while roller skating.

Quechua: Deals with climbing, hiking, mountaineering and skiing.

Consist of tents, sleeping bags, hiking bags, shoes, jackets, bottles,
camping equipment like tables, chairs and tripods and all
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accessories which are necessary during these activities. This is the biggest brand and the most
in demand at decathlon.

Tribord: Deals with diving, sailing, surfing and swimming. It

consists of diving gear, carabineers, masks for diving; life jackets,
shorts etc for sailing and surfing; masks, goggles, uv-protection
shirts, caps etc for swimming.

Most of the products are manufactured in different parts of

the world and the shipped to places of sale. Mostly manufactured in China, Vietnam, India,
Turkey, France, Thailand, Sri lanka etc. The principle is to manufacture at the lowest
possible cost and sell at the lowest cost to the customers so that it can be afforded by all.

2.2.5. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

C C

U U

S S
CEO and CFO
T T

O BRAND MANAGERS O

M M
DEPARTMENT MANAGERS
E E

R R
SALES ASSISTANTS
S S
Fig.2.5 Organizational structure

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 As shown the organization follows the above structure. Even though each employee
comes above or below the other, there is no discrimination among the employees. Everyone is
treated as equals and function in a flat structure. The customer comes along in every level of
the organization. The involvement levels of the customers are very high, because the products
are designed and manufactured as per the demands of the customer, who is the ultimate user
and judge of products. Most of the customers here are sports enthusiasts. Either beginners or
professionals. The products are designed differently to meet the needs at different levels,
keeping in mind the technical aspects and requirements of each.
The various departments of operation are:

E-Commerce- In-charge of online sale operations and registrations.

IT- In-charge of internal networking of computers and software
B2B- The department which concentrates on supply and sale of bulk orders.
Production- In-charge of designing and ordering the goods requested by the different
brands. Also are responsible to TAG a certain product as per brand.
Expansion team- In-charge of finding land and space for future stores and warehouses.
Logistics and supply chain
Retail- The in-store managers and sales representatives.

2.2.6 CRITERIA FOR MEMBERSHIP

Decathlon is a 100 % foreign investment. And because of that it is legally restricted to

from doing retail in INDIA. It is a cash and carry store, which means that any person who
wants to make a purchase from the store has to be a member.To become a member the
customer has to show that he/she belongs to a company, society or organization and submit
one document that belongs to this organization.
It can be any one of the following:
o Value Added Tax Registration (VAT)
o Service/Professional Tax
o Certificate of Registration of Society, Shops & Establishments Registration (Labour
license)
o Central SalesTax, Excise license
o Registration Certificate Indian Medical Council (Practicing Doctors)
o Health/Trade (Corporation) License

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 o Liquor license
o Food License (PFA)
o Drug License
o Weight and Measures License
Strengths
o Government Fair Price shop
 One of its kind stores all over India, which provides sports goods at the lowest
o Kerosene LicenseIt provides goods for all sports under one roof.
possible prices.
o Registrar
Technicalofexpertise- people
Cooperative who are specialist in a certain sport are hired as brand
Societies
managers for that sport. They have the capability to answer to the technical questions
o Gas Agency License
put forth by the customers after understanding the technicalities of the product
o Electricity Board Contractor License
themselves.
o Small
Start Scale
to endIndustries
process- License
they have the power to design, manufacture and sell products
themselves. They do not have to depend on other companies for these processes.
o Licenses Issued by Reserve Bank of India
 They do not waste money on advertising. Instead they use this amount on
o License Issuesevents
promotional UnderandEssential
workshops, to create awareness, which in fact is lesser than
advertising. Act (selling pesticides, agro seeds)
o Commodities
 B2B customers- there are resellers of DECATHLON. Which is a great strength as the
o Entertainment
resellers can do License
retail promote Decathlon.
o Import Export Certificate
Weaknesses
o Dance and Music Academy Certificate
 Restriction from doing retail. Their customers are restricted to only members.
 Huge effort to be put into creating awareness. That is time taken to make itself
visible is a little long.
Anyone who can
 Since provideisany
Decathlon one only
located of the above documents
in Bangalore, cateringand fill inIndia
to North a membership form
becomes costly
online orbecause
at the store can become a member with Decathlon and can make a purchase.
of logistics.

2.2.7 QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS - SWOT ANALYSIS :

Opportunities
 It has been observed from the customer survey analysis, that a lot of the buyers are
non-members. Without much effort they have managed to achieve a lot of buyers.
Thus, there is a huge opportunity for Decathlon to convert these customers to
members and increase their customer base.
 Joint venture with Indian companies.
 Expansion to other parts of India
 The sports industry is growing at a very rapid pace. In India Decathlon can cash into
this boom by providing Quality products at affordable price.

Threats
 The store as a whole does not have any competitors but the passion brands have
competitors. Stores like wildcraft are a big threat to the brand quechua; Nike, Reebok
are a threat to the brand kalenji etc.
 The entry barrier to this industry is very low

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 3 Project Profile

Title: “A Study of Marketing Communication Strategy of Decathlon Sports India”

Objective:

The objective of the study is to,

 To spot a strategic location to have effective marketing communication

 To identify the factors effecting the customers purchase decision

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  To analyse the impact of product-service mix on customer satisfaction

Problem Definition:

To estimate the level of customer satisfaction, of members and non-members of

DECATHLON, to help improve service and sales, and to identify the problem areas.

4 Methodology
A questionnaire was designed as in Annexure-1. The questions were asked to
members as well as non-members. Basically everyone who purchased from the store was
asked to fill the questionnaire.

Sample Size: 400

METHOD USED FOR COLLECTION OF RESPONSES

Personal Interaction: We handed out questionnaires and explained to them the philosophy of
the store and the motive behind the low prices and no charge for use of facilities. And
answered their queries in the meantime and helped them fill the questionnaire. There is a
section for the recommendations of customers i.e. recommendation for Additional Activities

20 | P a g e
that can be conducted in the store in the future and recommendations regarding Products and
Services. These are the sections which helped identify the events that could be possibly
conducted in the future to increase the visibility of the store and it also helped identify the
areas/layouts which needed improvement.

The survey was conducted over duration of 45 days; during the weekdays and weekends. As
the weekends witness more number of customers in comparison to the weekdays, maximum
responses are from the weekends; and these responses helped identify the weak areas more
accurately, as more crowd means more stress and these exactly pointed out the areas which
couldn’t handle the stress and need to be improved.

DATA COLLECTED

The Demographic Data collected included

 Name
 Company name
 Location of residence
 Whether the respondent is a member or non-member
 Whether the respondent is a buyer or non-buyer
 The most convenient mode of communication by the company

The Product Related Data included

 Quality
 Variety
 Price
 Display of the products in the racks
 Signages- Since the concept is of self service, each product has placards
explaining the functions of the product, various features and conditions under
which the product can be used, unit price and bulk discounted price.

The Service Related Data included

 Speed of billing
 Courteousness

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  Assistance in layouts- In case the customer does not understand the signages, this
question checks if he/she received timely assistance when in need of help.

5 Analysis

5.1 Relation Buyer- Non-buyer and Member- Non-member

18%

Buyer
Non-Buyer

82%

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 Fig.5.1

As shown in the chart above 18% of the visitors are non-buyers and 82% are buyers.

As shown in Fig.5.2; out of the above mentioned 82% of the buyers, only 78% are members.

The rest
22% are

0.22 non-
members.

Member
Non-Member
0.78

Fig.5.2

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 29% Members
Non-Members

71%

Fig.5.3

Out of the total respondents surveyed, 29% are non-members and 71% are members.
Which is a bad sign because the store is only for members and the figures show that people
are buyers but not members, which means they come along with members and make a
purchase. But the concept of the store is to make everyone members and allow purchases only
for members. But if the member him/her self does not have any problem with someone else
using their membership then it cannot be avoided.
Plus there are a few of these first time customers who do not know that the store is
only for members, thus they end up requesting a member to let them use their membership
and make the purchase for that time.

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5.2 Visiting frequency

3%
12%
21%

more than twice a week

once a week
once a month
12% rarely
1st timers

52%

Fig.5.4

As shown in fig.5.4. 52% of the customers visit the store once a month; 21% are the

first timers, 12% visit once a week and 12% visit even more rarely than once a month. And a

minute 3% visit the store more than twice a week. The people who visit the store once a week

and more than once a week are people who live mostly around the store. And come to the

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store as a destination shop, i.e. they come to the store, use all the facilities, attend the

workshops and spend a maximum time of the day at the store.

5.3 Convenience of Location

YES
NO

Fig.5.5

As shown in the fig.5.5 around 61% of the customers find the location of the store to

be convenient for commuting. And 40% find the location to be inconvenient.

Also 3% of the people who said the location of the store is inconvenient, also said

they do not mind travelling that distance that far, as it is worth it.

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 Since the store is located in the outskirts of the city and had a huge playground and

sports equipment, free for use, many people come here to use the playground, inspite of living

far away. Among, the 3% who said they don’t mind travelling far off are the people who have

children and live in apartments in the city without a play are. Thus, this place is like a break,

where they can spend time playing with their children.

5.4 Product Related Attributes

1% 2% 1%
2%
100%
7%
17% 13%

0%
80% 41%

35% 51%

60% 55% can't say

highly dissatisfied
dissatisfied
satisfied
40% highly satisfied
57%
48%
41%
20% 31%

0%
QUALITY VARIETY PRICE DISPLAY

Fig.5.6
Quality: 48% of the buyers are highly satisfied with quality, 35% just satisfied, and about

17% can’t say because they are the first timers

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Variety: 31% of the buyers are highly satisfied with variety, 55% just satisfied, and about

13% are dissatisfied, reasons being that in a few sections of the store the choice are very less

with respect to colours.

Price: 42% of the buyers are highly satisfied with price, 51% just satisfied, and about 7%

dissatisfied, reasons being that some of the clothing are expensive, when compared to the

local clothing shops.2% can’t say.

Display: 57% of the buyers are highly satisfied with the way products have been displayed,

40% are just satisfied, 1% of them dissatisfied because some customers complained of not

understanding the technicalities of some products with the way they were displayed and about

2% can’t say.

5.5 Service Related Attributes

100% 2.75%
11.00%
90% 1.75% 22.50%
80%
25.00%
70%

60%
can't say
50% highly dissatisfied
dissatisfied
40% satisfied
74.75%
highly satisfied
30% 62.00%

20%

10%

0%
Speed of billing courteousness

Fig.5.7

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Speed of Billing: 62% of the customers are highly satisfied, 25% are satisfied, 2%

dissatisfied, the reason being that during weekends the crowd is very vast and there are only 3

billing counters, and most of the customers and bulk purchasers who come during weekends

and shop, thus there is a small number of waiting customers and 11% can’t say.

Courteousness of staff: 75% of the customers are highly satisfied with the courteousness of

the staff, which includes the cashiers, brand managers and sales assistants present in the

layouts to help them. 23% are satisfied and about 3% say can’t say.

5.6. SIGNAGES

2.25% 1.75% 3.50%

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%
97.75% 98.25% 96.50% NO
50% YES
40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
UNDERSTANDABLE USEFUL ASSISTANCE

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 Fig.5.8

97% of the surveyed customers think that the signages are understandable and 3%

disagree and say they cannot understand the signages. This maybe because a few signages

have the technical details mentioned and they’re not very clear, in a few layouts.

But 97% say they received timely help in case the signages weren’t understandable.

3% disagree and say they did not receive attention. The reason maybe that during the

weekends there are lots of customers and the brand managers are busy with another customer,

thus cannot pay attention to all the customers instantly.

98% percent of the buyers found that the signages were useful in making their

purchase decisions and 2% disagree.

5.7 Awareness about the events and In –store activities

17%

YES
NO
83%

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 Fig.5.9

83% of the customers who visited the store are NOT aware of the in-store activities

and a mere 17% are aware.

The store was opened in May 2009 and it does not advertise. Thus in order to make

itself visible, the only other means is promotional events, like one event which was conducted

recently was the VITAL SPORT; Which consisted of events like various types of dance,

fitness, aerobics, yoga, aikijujutsu, taekwondo, karate, sports workshops for kids and

juggling. It was a 3 day workshop. Other events which were conducted were golf tournament.

A one day sports day for kids and parents by one of the brands. Thus because of events like

these a few people were aware of DECATHLON.

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5.8 How did the customers know about the DSI store?

4% 5%
10%

internet
members/frnds
walk-in
others

82%

Fig.5.10

From fig.5.10, it can be seen that word-of-mouth contributes most to create

awareness and increase the visibility of DECATHLON. Around 82% of the customers

became aware of DSI because of their friends and other members. 10% of the members came

in to the store while they were just passing by. Around 4% got to know about DSI through the

internet, probably during searches. And the remaining 3.5% are the customers who were

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employees at Decathlon, or were aware because they saw the old office of Decathlon at

another location and were directed to the present store from there.

5.9 How do the customers want to receive communication?

9% 1%

e-mail
SMS
tel call

90%

Fig 5.11

From the graph above it can be seen that 90% of the customers want to be informed

about the events to be conducted at DECATHLON, via e-mail. 9% would like to be informed

by SMS and the rest 1% like to be informed by a telephone call.

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 The first two are the fastest and least disturbing or interrupting modes of

communication unlike the last, as telephone calls are treated as an invasion of privacy by a lot

of the customers and prefer not be informed by that. Additionally with more than 15000

customers it is very difficult to call each and every person and inform. There is computer

software by means of which bulk SMS and mails can be sent. Thus, SMS and E-mails are the

cheapest.

5.10 Overall shopping experience of the customers

45%
excellent
56% good
bad

Fig.5.12
We can see from the chart above that 45% of the customers had an excellent shopping

experience. 56% said they had a good experience. There is no customer who said he/she had a

bad experience shopping at DECATHLON.

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 This is treated as a dangerous indicator i.e. having a majority in the GOOD area.

Because it is human psychology. People who are truly had an excellent time would mark

excellent. But people who had an average to above average experience come under GOOD.

They would mark good indicating that they neither had a bad experience shopping here, nor

did they have an excellent experience. Meaning they are looking for something more from the

store, something that they did not find in the store and some improvement that they will

expect after every visit of theirs.

And the aim at DECATHLON is to have a majority of the customers in the excellent

area. Thus the recommendations of the customers will help them improve their sales and

services.

6 FINDINGS

After the analysis it was found that:

• Quality and Display are not a matter of worry. The products made here are made such
that they last under extreme conditions thus the quality has no complaints. The display
of the products is very clean and spacious, giving a clear view of every piece to
choose from. The signages are well understood by most of the customers and the
technicalities of certain products need to be explained more in detail.
But changes need to be made with respect to price and variety because the variety is
very less when it comes to choice among clothing in different brands.

• Customer service at the billing counter is not a matter of worry as it was found that
attributes like speed of billing and courtesy of the working staff have ratings above
average with an exception from very few customers complaining that the speed of
billing has to be improved (during weekends).

• A huge percentage of customers are expecting more and more interactive sports
related workshops and have recommended for those. (Annexure2)

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 • It was found that many of the buyers are not members. It shows that even without any
effort, there are a huge number of customers who are non-members available to be
converted into members and increase the customer base.

7 STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

7.1 Factor Analysis

A Factor Analysis was conducted on the service related and product related data to
find the most influential factors.

Definition: It is a statistical process used to explain the interrelationship between a set of

many interrelated variables and to explain these variables in terms of their common
underlying dimensions (factors). It is used for data reduction and summarization. It is a
multivariate statistical technique in which the whole the whole set of interdependent
relationships are examined. And the FACTOR is the underlying dimension which explains
the correlation among these set of variables.

It is used in the following circumstances:

 To identify factors that explain the underlying correlation among variables

 To identify a new, smaller set of uncorrelated variables to replace the original set of
correlated variables
 To identify a smaller, more accurate, effective and influential set of variables from a
larger set of variables.
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Its applications can be, for example:

 In market segmentation to find the underlying variables, based on which to group the
customers.
 In product research, to identify brand attributes that influence consumer choice.
 In advertising studies, to understand media consumption habits of target market.
 In pricing studies, to identify characteristics of price sensitive consumers.

7.1.1 S TATISTICS ASSOCIATED WITH FACTOR ANALYSIS

Descriptive statistics
Bartlett test of Sphericity
KMO, Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin, sampling Adequacy
Communality
Eigen values
Factor matrix
Factor scores
Percentage of variance

7.2 SPSS Outputs and ANALYSIS

7.2.1 HYPOTHESES:

Null Hypothesis: H0=“The factors considered do not have any statistical association
on the customer purchase decision and in turn satisfaction”

Alternate Hypothesis:H1=“The factors considered do not have any statistical

association on the customer purchase decision and in turn satisfaction”

37 | P a g e
7.2.2 CORRELATIONS MATRIX

Billing Courtes
Quality Variety Price Display speed y
Quality Pearson
1 .180** .274** .191** .628** .327**
Correlation
Sig.(2-
.000 .000 .000 .000 .000
tailed)
N 400 400 400 400 400 400
Variety Pearson
.180** 1 .527** .313** .213** .326**
Correlation
Sig.(2-
.000 .000 .000 .000 .000
tailed)
N 400 400 400 400 400 400
Price Pearson
.274** .527** 1 .518** .303** .428**
Correlation
Sig.(2-
.000 .000 .000 .000 .000
tailed)
N 400 400 400 400 400 400
Display Pearson
.191** .313** .518** 1 .270** .376**
Correlation
Sig.(2-
.000 .000 .000 .000 .000
tailed)
N 400 400 400 400 400 400
Billing Pearson
.628** .213** .303** .270** 1 .540**
speed Correlation

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 Sig.(2-
.000 .000 .000 .000 .000
tailed)
N 400 400 400 400 400 400
Courtesy Pearson
.327** .326** .428** .376** .540** 1
Correlation
Sig.(2-
.000 .000 .000 .000 .000
tailed)
N 400 400 400 400 400 400
** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
The above table shows the correlations among the different variables.

7.2.3 DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS

Mean Std. Deviation Analysis N

Variety 1.84 .734 400
Price 1.70 .725 400
Display 1.48 .621 400
Billing speed 1.73 1.253 400
courtesy 1.34 .744 400
Quality 2.03 1.419 400

The above table shows the mean and standard deviation of the various factors.
The sample size is N=400

7.2.4 KMO AND BARTLETT'S TEST

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling

Adequacy. .719

Bartlett's Test of Approx. Chi-Square 702.069

Sphericity Df 15
Sig. .000

In table 7.2.3 the value of KMO determines the accuracy of the sample size. The more
it tends towards 1 the more accurate is our sample size. Here, KMO=0.719 and it is close to 1
and greater than 0.5. Thus, it shows that our sample size is adequate and accurate.

7.2.5. COMMUNALITIES

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 Initial Extraction
Variety 1.000 .587
Price 1.000 .732
Display 1.000 .554
Billing speed 1.000 .823
courtesy 1.000 .565
Quality 1.000 .736
Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.

Communality is the amount of variance a variable shares with other variables being
considered i.e. the proportion of variance explained by the common factors.

7.2.6 T OTAL VARIANCE EXPLAINED

Extraction Sums of Squared Rotation Sums of Squared

Initial Eigen values Loadings Loadings
Componen % of Cumulativ % of Cumulativ % of Cumulativ
t Total Variance e% Total Variance e% Total Variance e%
1 2.822 47.033 47.033 2.822 47.033 47.033 2.074 34.558 34.558
2 1.175 19.589 66.621 1.175 19.589 66.621 1.924 32.063 66.621
3 .695 11.579 78.201
4 .600 10.008 88.209
5 .402 6.695 94.903
6 .306 5.097 100.000
Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.

In the above table 7.2.6 we observe the Eigen values. The components whose Total
Eigen values are >1 are considered and used further to identify the factors. And components 1
and 2 will represent or explain for the 66.62% of the total variance of the data.
Component one represents the physical attributes while component two represents the
service attributes of the products and organization as whole.

7.2.7. COMPONENT MATRIX (A)

Component
1 2
Variety .608 .467
Price .749 .413
Display .645 .371
Billing speed .727 -.543
courtesy .746 -.095
Quality .625 -.588

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Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.
a .2 components extracted.

From the above table 7.2.7, among the values under components 1 and 2, the loadings
are all high and all can be considered to get the factors. But that is not accurate. Hence we use
the rotated component matrix to identify factors.

7.2.8 ROTATED COMPONENT MATRIX (A)

Component
1 2
Variety .764 .065
Price .832 .200
Display .727 .160
Billing speed .171 .891
courtesy .487 .573
Quality .065 .856

Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.

Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization.
a Rotation converged in 3 iterations.

From the table 7.2.8 we identify the highest values/loadings under components 1 and
2 to identify the factors.Here we find that under component 1 Price has the highest value and
under component 2 quality has the highest value for product related factors and it can be
concluded that price and quality contribute or influence the customer’s decision maximum.

7.2.9. COMPONENT TRANSFORMATION MATRIX

Component 1 2
1 .739 .674
2 .674 -.739

Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.

Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization.

The above last table 7.2.9 is used to show the correlation between the identified factors which
are price and quality.

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8 Findings from Statistical analysis
From The statistical analysis it was found that the most influential factors when a
customer comes to make a purchase at Decathlon are price and quality.

Null Hypothesis: H0= “The factors considered do not have any statistical association on the
customer purchase decision and in turn satisfaction” can be Accepted.

Alternate Hypothesis: H1= “The factors considered do not have any statistical association on
the customer purchase decision and in turn satisfaction” will be Rejected because price and
quality are the factors which have a significant influence on customer purchase decision.

This finding also matches with the previous analysis, where price and quality were the
two main factors with which a maximum number of the customers were highly satisfied.
Also from the first table, the correlations matrix we found that all the factors are significantly
correlated. It means each factor effects the other factor and also the customer purchase
decision, with the influence being Maximum from price and quality.
Also in the service related factors speed of billing is most influential. Meaning the
customers are satisfied with the speed of billing and it also is one of the factors which
contributes to customers visiting the store repeatedly.

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9 Recommendations
The below recommendations were proposed to the CEO, CFO and all brand managers of
DECATHLON in the committee meeting.

 A Marketing Plan-
o Corporate events can be conducted to increase awareness. Corporate events
meaning conducting sports workshops for people in offices like Wipro,
Infosys, SAP, Tech Mahindra and many more.
o Contact all the sports clubs and invite them for a visit and make them aware of
a store like this. Plus inform them regarding the low, bulk prices. Which will
surely interest the committees and in turn will interest the members of these
clubs to buy from DECATHLON

 Updating the Signages

o Technical details in B-twin, the cycling section
o TT ball details in Artengo, the section for racket sports.
o Climbing equipment details in Quechua need to be more explained in terms of
stress holding capacity etc
o Products in Artemis need more explanation, the archery section. Since this
section does not have a brand manager the signages need to be more self
explanatory so that the customers don’t need external help.

 Reuse paper- Decathlon believes in cutting costs but a lot of paper is wasted while
printing i.e. employees print on one side, both sides can be used for printing to save

43 | P a g e
 paper. And a lot of paper is wasted in internal consumption in the form of paper
glasses for drinking water and tea/coffee. All employees must be given permanent
reusable steel, metal or plastic glasses so that one glass is not wasted for one drink of
water.

 Different sizes of carry bags- There is just one size of carry bags available to pack
things bought by customers and the size is big. Smaller sizes need to be introduced to
avoid wastage of plastic bags.

 Sales assistants in big layouts. As there were complaints regarding assistance.

 Gift vouchers- There should be facility of gift vouchers wherein members can gift
coupons to non-members in case of need or in case of occasions like birthdays,
anniversaries etc.

 Improvement in football section- The choice of shin guards, jerseys is very less in the
football layout. These need to be improved.

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10 LEARNING OUTCOMES
Through this project, done at Decathlon India during the periods of 11 th April 2010 to 10th
June 2010, the following were our learning outcomes:
 We had an opportunity to understand the time share industry broadly put into the
category of Sports and accesories
 Mapping of the concentration of the Target Group at Kolkata required employing a
questionnaire to carry out the survey. This was an experience which enabled learning
with respect to framing a perfect questionnaire for both the respondents and the
researchers by keeping various aspects in mind {clarity of questions, optimal number
of questions, approach to frame the questions concisely etc.}. Further analyzing the
questionnaire to find out relevant information through application of various statistical
tools and techniques.
 We also learnt how tedious a market survey can be, and also how one needs to deploy
lot of patience in conducting one.
 We also learnt how Decathlon’s format of operations particularly how leads and sales
are generated.
 It also enabled us to learn how different it is to market a non necessity, rather a
lifestyle luxury product from the conventional marketing techniques.
 We were able to learn the methodology of sales in the company done through the
CDSO. We tried to find out newer modes of engagement so that the redundant steps in
the format could be done away with that proved to be a good learning experience.
 This project has also boosted our confidence by giving me chance to discuss with
store managers in order to gather information through them. Also learnt the
constraints that can crop up while doing so.

45 | P a g e
  We were able to apply many of the marketing ideas studied just theoretically into
practicality through this project.

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