French sports brand Decathlon appoints Barbara Martin Coppola as group CEO

The Decathlon logo is seen at the entrance to the French sports equipment and clothing company’s Decathlon store in Merignac near Bordeaux July 10, 2014. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau

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PARIS, Jan 25 (Reuters) – French sports retailer Decathlon has appointed Barbara Martin Coppola, 45, a former executive at companies like IKEA and Google (GOOGL.O), as global chief executive.

Coppola will replace Michel Aballea, who had held the position since 2015, in mid-March this year, added Decathlon, which competes in France with companies such as Go Sport.

Decathlon said it was in good financial shape, echoing recent bullish updates from sportswear companies such as Puma (PUMG.DE) and JD Sports (JD.L), which performed well despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more

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“Decathlon’s current good health and our strong ambitions encourage us to accelerate the transformation of our economic model to better assert our position as the world leader in sport”, declared Fabien Derville, President of Decathlon.

“We are convinced that Barbara will be able to lead this transformation while respecting our values,” added Derville.

According to Decathlon’s website, the company recorded sales of 11.4 billion euros ($12.9 billion). The Mulliez family, which also owns the Auchan supermarket chain, holds the majority shareholding in Decathlon.

($1 = 0.8872 euros)

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Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Dominique Vidalon

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