The authorities have not ruled out a Decathlon ban on the sale of stores by the piece

French Decathlon announced the suspension of work in RUSSIA in March 2022. Izvestia notes that since the beginning of 2023, the company has sold five of its stores in the country. The Ministry of Industry and Trade did not rule out a banfor the sale of points by the piece

The government commission for the control of foreign investment may prohibit the French Decathlon from selling its stores in Russia individually, so that the company does not try to "get around the mandatory conditions for the sale of the business," Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Viktor Yevtukhov told Izvestia.

The newspaper recalls that now Decathlon is selling its stores separately: in 2023, the company sold five outlets in Russia.

“I think that this process will have to be suspended. So that it does not happen that the trading network is trying to circumvent the mandatory conditions for the sale of a business. That is, to avoid a transaction that takes into account the full value of the assets. So after all, you can sell all the stores - each separately - and leave the country without giving your customers a 50% discount and without paying deductions to the treasury of 10% of the amount, ”Yevtukhov said.

According to him, Decathlon needs to make a clearer decision: either they stay or they leave. Such "piece" transactions for the sale of property assets should be an exception and correspond to the logic of the economic activity of enterprises, the Deputy Minister noted. “Otherwise, they become like deals to cover the true goals of companies leaving the market, that is, to “sham” deals,” he stressed.

The French network Decathlon, which sells sports goods, announced the suspension of work in Russia on March 29, 2022. The company noted that supply restrictions prevent it from continuing operations in the country. In January 2023, RBC, citing sources, wrote that the retailer was going to sell the Russian business in full - the cost of a division in Russia, which owns 28 objects, was estimated at 10-15 billion rubles.

Decathlon is one of the largest sporting goods retailers in the world. In 2021, the company's sales grew by 21% and amounted to almost €14 billion excluding taxes, net profit of €913 million. The company was founded in 1976 by Michel Leclerc.

The network came to Russia in 2006. According to the 2021 financial statements, the company is owned by the Leclerc family (42.39%), the Mullier family (44.13%) and company employees (13.48%). The Mullier family also owns Auchan, Leroy Merlin, Kiabi, Pimkie and others. Michel Leclerc and Auchan founder Gerard Mulier are cousins.

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