The French sporting goods retailer Decathlon has said that Julien Leclercq, one of the sons of its founder Michel Leclercq, will be named as board chairman on 10th March. Decathlon’s sourcing policies have come under criticism in recent weeks.
Julien Leclercq, who was already serving on the board of directors, brings 20 years of experience at Decathlon. He has held various roles, including category manager in Spain, managing a store in Belgium, and launching Decathlon initiatives in Singapore, according to the company, which is owned by the French Mulliez family.
The group also mentioned that Julien Leclercq was selected after a thorough selection process conducted by the shareholders, which took several months. He will succeed Fabien Derville, who was appointed chairman in 2018.
Decathlon is frequently listed as one of France’s favourite stores, however in early January, the TV station France 2’s Cash Investigation program and the investigative journalism organisation Disclose accused the company of profiting from the forced labour of Uighurs in China.
In response, the French athletic goods company, a significant international retailer with 1,700 locations across more than 70 countries and 100,000 employees, “firmly condemned all forms of forced labour.”
