Decathlon, a well-known sports equipment brand in France, has recently been embroiled in a counterfeit goods controversy in mainland China. Several e-commerce stores in China are suspected of selling counterfeit Decathlon products, including assault jackets, sports shoes, and various other items. As the investigation deepens, a counterfeit production chain allegedly originating from Hebei and Jiangsu provinces has gradually come to light.
In recent days, a TikTok blogger named “Mr. H and Little Han Brother” has released a series of videos exposing some e-commerce platform sellers for allegedly selling fake “Decathlon” products on a large scale. Through practical comparisons, it was found that the materials, waterproof performance, and workmanship of the involved products significantly differ from the authentic ones.
According to a report from the “Blue Whale News” on June 14th, to verify the authenticity of the products, “Mr. H and Little Han Brother” purchased a genuine Decathlon assault jacket from an offline store and compared it with the same product sold by two unofficial stores. The results showed that the online products not only had serious zipper glue issues and rough workmanship but also discrepancies in fabric materials and labeling information, failing to meet national waterproof standards. Multiple test reports further confirmed that the products in question were counterfeit goods.
Furthermore, consumers have reported quality issues with “Decathlon” products purchased from a store called “Adventure Era Sports Outdoor Speciality Store.” One pair of sports shoes was deemed “not meeting the characteristics of authentic goods” by the Verified Items app. The appraiser pointed out that various exterior details of the product did not align with the standards of the genuine product, indicating it was a counterfeit item.
To further validate the authenticity, the consumer purchased the same product from Decathlon’s official flagship store for a comparison. The results revealed differences such as the blurry washing label font, messy layout, and substantial material discrepancies in the sole and shoe body of the questioned product compared to the genuine one.
Apart from sports shoes, several consumers have provided evidence regarding assault jackets and other related items. Upon examining the product details, these items show significant differences in fabric, washing label, and craftsmanship quality compared to the genuine product, raising suspicions of selling counterfeit goods.
“Decathlon” is a well-known French retail brand for sports equipment, with over 20 in-house brands like Quechua and Domyos that cover more than 80 sports categories, renowned for their high cost-performance ratio.
A search on various e-commerce platforms shows many sellers using names like “Dee Small Yung,” closely resembling “Decathlon,” to deliberately imitate the official brand name and potentially mislead consumers. The prices of these related products are generally cheaper by tens to hundreds of yuan compared to official channels.
Responding to this issue, Decathlon’s official customer service stated that the brand only operates an official flagship store on e-commerce platforms, has not authorized any third-party sellers, and operates all offline stores under a direct management model. For products purchased through unofficial channels, the brand does not provide authenticity verification services.
According to reports, based on the statistics of the products’ shipping locations, the relevant items mainly originate from Nangong City in Hebei and Kunshan City in Jiangsu. Notably, Kunshan Qiyuan Sports Goods Co., Ltd., located in Kunshan’s Weiren Technology Industrial Park, has been sealed, with visible seal strips on its office premises, some showing signs of tampering.
Insiders disclosed that before being sealed, the warehouse of the aforementioned company dispatched a large number of products labeled as “Decathlon” to various regions across the country daily, adopting a multi-store simultaneous sales model with a daily shipment volume exceeding thousands of orders. Due to frequent product quality issues, the return rate has remained consistently high.