Decathlon in Colombia: company-owned stores, not franchises

Decathlon’s growth in Colombia comes with an important distinction for prospective franchise investors: its new stores do not represent opportunities to buy a franchise. The French sporting goods retailer operates in the country through a subsidiary and company-owned stores, according to information published by L’Express Franchise on 29 September 2026.

Expansion without franchise opportunities

Decathlon selects locations, opens stores and manages its outlets directly in Colombia. Its business model does not include franchises available to private investors, a distinction worth bearing in mind when reading news about its expansion.

The company entered the country in 2017 with its first store at La Colina shopping centre in Bogotá. Since then, its Colombian presence has grown through company-owned operations. The cited publication notes that the brand also uses this model in most of its markets.

For anyone considering franchise ownership, the implication is clear: this chain’s growth is not an invitation to become a franchisee. A new opening can extend a brand’s reach without changing its relationship with outside investors or creating a route into the business through franchising.

The first question to ask when reading expansion news should therefore not be how much it costs to open a store, but whether the company actually offers franchises in Colombia.

Santafé Bogotá illustrates the growth model

The opening highlighted in the report is at Santafé Bogotá, where Decathlon inaugurated its tenth store in the capital. The outlet covers 1,200 square metres and initially created 20 direct jobs, with that figure expected to rise to 25, according to figures from Portafolio cited by L’Express Franchise.

The new outlet forms part of the company’s 2026 expansion programme. The published information records openings at Unicentro in January and Santafé Medellín in June, alongside the Santafé Bogotá store. It also reports plans to add two further outlets in the north of the capital before December.

It is important to distinguish completed openings from announcements: the additional stores expected towards the end of the year are reported plans, not openings that can be treated as completed on the basis of this information. Likewise, the expected increase in employment at Santafé Bogotá does not mean a workforce of 25 has already been confirmed.

Retail scale does not mean access for franchisees

Across its physical stores and e-commerce operations, Decathlon sells around seven million units a year in Colombia, according to the cited publication. This is a measure of sales volume, not revenue, profit or results attributable to a franchise.

The company expects to end 2026 with 22 stores, or 23 outlets if its retail kiosk in Ibagué is included. That difference reflects what is included in the count and should be retained when comparing figures. Its reported target for 2030 is to reach between 30 and 35 stores.

These figures give a sense of Decathlon’s presence, but they do not provide a basis for calculating the profitability of an independently owned business. The available information also provides no initial investment figure, franchise fee or contractual terms for Decathlon franchisees in Colombia: the model described is company-owned operation.

For prospective franchise investors, this is a useful reminder that a network’s size and pace of openings are not enough to establish whether it offers an accessible investment opportunity.

What to check before pursuing an opportunity

Anyone looking to start a sporting goods business through a franchise will need to assess other brands that do offer this model. The research provided does not identify specific alternatives or allow their terms to be compared, so it would not be appropriate to recommend individual companies.

As a practical step, confirm with each brand whether it offers franchises in Colombia, what involvement it permits from third parties and what documentation it provides to help assess the proposal. It is also advisable to distinguish chain-wide figures from verifiable results for a comparable outlet.

Practical conclusion: Decathlon is expanding its retail presence, but it does not offer franchises in Colombia. Before budgeting for an investment, confirm that the opportunity exists and that the advertised business model allows you to participate as a franchisee.