Second Facility in Poland for RTE

When it comes to bicycle assembly plants in Europe, none can compete with RTE which produces up to 1.4 million units every single year. As an exclusive producer of Decathlon bikes, the Executive Director of RTE S.A., Bruno Salgado, recently announced the plant would be joined by a second facility in Poland by 2021.

Why Poland? Above all else, there’s a need to establish the facility closer to Decathlon’s growing markets. Although originally from France and selling four million units across Europe each year, the number of stores in Poland and Hungary is quickly increasing (alongside Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, and Russia). For Decathlon, this is progressing their omni-channel strategy nicely - an approach that will see customers order online and collect in nearby stores.

Central European Production

According to recent statistics, Decathlon spanned 39 countries in 2017 across 1,350 stores after 185 additions over the course of the twelve months. Although numbers for 2018 aren't accessible just yet, experts predict even more openings for the brand in Germany and Switzerland especially.

In total, 2017 was a year of success for the brand and turnover reached EUR 11 billion. However, less than 5% of this came from online sales which led Francois De Witte, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, to say “Although the share of internet sales is low, omni-channel is still a revolution to which no one escapes. Market research also shows that one in five customers said they had not found the product they were looking for in stores without checking it online first.”

New Polish Addition

With Decathlon’s aims of growing in the area, RTE are following their lead with a new production facility too. Set to be located in Brzesc Kujawski, around 500,000 bikes are expected to be produced for Decathlon each year and the high-quality facilities will result from a PLN 80 million investment; this equates to more than EUR 18 million.

When discussing the new facility recently, Salgado noted how “The idea is to bring production closer to the sales markets, as bikes, due to their dimensions, is a product that does not transport well and comes with high costs. It makes sense to produce near the center of Europe, where business is expanding.”