Sports clothing and equipment is a big business. As living space in big cities decreases and the cost of living keeps going up, Decathlon are trying to provide affordable and accessible ways of keeping in shape. On 16th November 2016 I was invited to their cross training event to try some of their new products, which are new or soon to be released in the U.K.
If you haven't heard of Decathlon, you may well have heard of one of their brands. I saw Quechua backpacks being used everywhere in South America. Their branding is confusing—Quechua is one of 30 Decathlon brands, each aimed at a different area of the market. Quechua is for hiking and outdoor gear whereas Domyos is the gym range, from home gym to big equipment.
Domyos is a brand already popular in France, where the company started. The event started with a brief outline of how the brand began and how it has evolved, emphasising the importance of team members (staff who work in their stores) to the development of the products and the way they are marketed. Team members are fully trained in the products they are selling. I thought the whole process sounded very user friendly. You can buy products for every sport in one store and then watch online videos that give you ideas and tips on how to use the equipment.
If you haven't heard of Decathlon, you may well have heard of one of their brands. I saw Quechua backpacks being used everywhere in South America. Their branding is confusing—Quechua is one of 30 Decathlon brands, each aimed at a different area of the market. Quechua is for hiking and outdoor gear whereas Domyos is the gym range, from home gym to big equipment.
Domyos is a brand already popular in France, where the company started. The event started with a brief outline of how the brand began and how it has evolved, emphasising the importance of team members (staff who work in their stores) to the development of the products and the way they are marketed. Team members are fully trained in the products they are selling. I thought the whole process sounded very user friendly. You can buy products for every sport in one store and then watch online videos that give you ideas and tips on how to use the equipment.
With the dry facts and figures out of the way, we got a chance to try all the products and changed into our new Domyos sportswear which consisted of a vest, leggings, socks and trainers (full product details below). Kitted out from top to toe we enjoyed (?!) an hour-long workout session led by Nicolas, the head coach based at the Domyos gym in Lille, France. The equipment was all appropriates to use at home, including hex dumbells (with rubber coating to protect your floor), kettlebells and training straps for bodyweight workouts. I liked all the equipment—it was easy to use, thoughtfully made to be multifunctional, portable (where possible) and suitable for home or gym use. The clothing is pretty good too, it's practical and well made. The leggings have a wide elastic waistband which is comfortable and the elasticated material fits snugly but allowed plenty of movement. I've since used these for outdoor running and they're my favourite. The socks are extremely cosy, thin but stretchy and seemed to wick away sweat well. All the products have a consistent and practical design. The vest didn't fit me very well, I'm very small and prefer tight-fitting clothing, but it looked good on others. The trainers would be good gym shoes, however, they seem a little cheap. They have a slightly shapeless toe and may not last quite as long as a more a expensive pair. They also don't offer the same support that running shoes do, so if you're a treadmill user then look elsewhere. (The pair I have isn’t sold in the UK yet, but similar products are available from Domyos for around £10.99).
The extremely low prices of all the products got me thinking about the ethics of the brand. Cheap products mean that costs were cut somewhere in the production chain, usually in unsustainable materials or underpaying labourers. I looked on ethicalconsumer.org which scores companies based on a whole range of criteria, from factory standards to the environmental impact of their shipping methods. Decathlon score 7.5 out of 20 (1 being the worst). Find out more here.
This is a little better than both Adidas and Nike (6) and just for comparison, Primark scores just 3. All high street retailers will have similar scores to this, which isn’t great but could be worse. The team members who I spoke to at the event, including product managers from stores across the country, were all enthusiastic about the brand, the event, the products and their role in the company.
The tag lines of the evening were ACCESSIBLE, ADAPTABLE, PLAYFUL, CHALLENGING. The incredibly low prices, the easy-to-use website with added tools and thoughtfully designed products mean that I would recommend Domyos for your next gym outfit. Order online or why not pick up a new badminton racket, a tent and a treadmill while you’re visiting one of Decathlon's gigantic stores.
What’s your favourite fitness brand? And how is their ethical score?
This is a little better than both Adidas and Nike (6) and just for comparison, Primark scores just 3. All high street retailers will have similar scores to this, which isn’t great but could be worse. The team members who I spoke to at the event, including product managers from stores across the country, were all enthusiastic about the brand, the event, the products and their role in the company.
The tag lines of the evening were ACCESSIBLE, ADAPTABLE, PLAYFUL, CHALLENGING. The incredibly low prices, the easy-to-use website with added tools and thoughtfully designed products mean that I would recommend Domyos for your next gym outfit. Order online or why not pick up a new badminton racket, a tent and a treadmill while you’re visiting one of Decathlon's gigantic stores.
What’s your favourite fitness brand? And how is their ethical score?
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