The company plans to operate from Vilnius and does not rule out building a warehouse in Lithuania or another Baltic country and looking for production partners in the region in the future.

"We are launching our expansion and trying to find opportunities for launching Decathlon in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. We are launching our operations through the website and according to the feedback we get, we will look at opportunities to open a physical store. After we get the feedback, we will define which city will be the most interesting for us to settle our base in, but as of now, Vilnius could be a good opportunity," Nicolas Fogola, CEO of Decathlon Lietuva, a Decathlon subsidiary that was registered in mid-July.

Fogola said that the company does have a fixed deadline for deciding on its expansion in Lithuania and in the Baltic region.

"For the moment, the plan is to feel the environment, discuss business in Lithuania, launch the website and make our products available to customers. Lithuania is an interesting country with a good policy towards sports. It is also the biggest market in the Baltics and is the closest to European countries where we operate," he said.

The CEO of Decathlon Lietuva said that the company currently has no specific revenue targets and that it has a positive attitude toward competition.

"There is a place for everybody for businesss depending on who your target are. The more people practice sports, the more business we can do. Yes, there is Sportland, there are some brands like Nike, Adidas, SportsDirect that are already settled here. But my feeling is that the more people are pushed into sports, then the cake will grow instead of us sharing the same piece of cake," he said.

Online orders made at the Decathlon website are currently shipped from the United Kingdom, but Fogola says that a goods distribution point could be set up in Lithuania in the future. He does not rule out that some of Decathlon's products might be manufactured in Lithuania in the future.

"It is not on the table now, but, yes, it could be if there is good service, good quality, good manufacturers. For example, we have partnership with an Estonian company that manufactures paddles. When we move forward, we do not close the door for any opportunity," he said.

According to data from the Lithuanian Center of Registers, Decathlon Lietuva is wholly owned by France's Decathlon and has an authorized share capital of 0.5 million euros.

Founded by Michel Leclercq more than 40 years ago, Decathlon currently has some 1,200 stores in 28 countries around the world. Its largest retail chains are in France (301 stores), China (214), Spain (149) and Italy (113). The company also has 46 stores in Poland and 49 stores in Russia.

www.baltic-course.com