The workshop in Ștefăneștii de Jos, which spreads over an area of 1,100 sqm, serves as Decathlon Romania’s central technical hub, supporting stores in 27 cities. It specializes in complex repairs that go beyond the capabilities of local service centers, handling an average of 1,200 products per month. Nationwide, it serves as the main hub for a technical network comprising 32 local workshops located in the retailer’s stores and a total team of more than 100 technicians and specialists.
This year, the workshop is expected to carry out 14,000 repairs, up 15% from the previous year, while the gross value of its services is set to increase by 21%, amid growing local interest in the circular economy and advanced technical services, the multi-specialist sporting goods retailer said.
Beyond repair services for customers’ own equipment, the center plays a key role in extending the lifespan of sports products and putting them back into use through the retailer’s circular economy programs.
Florin Lazar, National Workshop & Repair Leader at Decathlon Romania Photo: Decathlon
“The Central Workshop is an essential pillar of our strategy to make sport accessible to as many people as possible while protecting their purchasing power. Through our Buy-Back program and the refurbishment of returned products, we give used equipment a second chance. These items undergo rigorous checks, are repaired, and are put back on store shelves as Refurbished or Resealed products at reduced prices,” Florin Lazar, National Workshop & Repair Leader at Decathlon Romania, explained.
The retailer describes itself as a born-circular company, having offered exchange parts and repair works from the very beginning. The first Decathlon store opened in Romania in 2009 with a repair workshop. Trocathlon, the company’s initiative allowing clients to swap products, was introduced in France in 1986 and had a first local edition in 2010, followed by the introduction of the buy-back and refurbished services. Over the past 12 months, the retailer sold locally 38,700 buy-back and resealed items, accounting for a combined turnover of RON 15.13 million. The buy-back segment accounted for RON 10 million, while that of resealed items for RON 5 million.
Gabriela Barbu, Head of Sustainability and Circular Economy at Decathlon Romania Photo: Decathlon
“We want to encourage more preventive maintenance before products break down”
This year, Romania ranked 10th globally within the group’s internal network, out of 20 countries analyzed, in terms of the number of customers served through regional workshops.
The workshop in Ștefăneștii de Jos has a team of 12 specialists, four of whom also work as regional trainers, training Decathlon technical teams in five other countries, namely Kosovo, Greece, Serbia, Slovenia, and Croatia.
Most of the customers served at the regional workshop are B2C customers, Gabriela Barbu, Head of Sustainability and Circular Economy at Decathlon Romania, explained.
“We have a significant B2B business in the personalization segment. Also, when the B2B team sells bicycles, the workshop team assembles them. B2B repair work is much less common, but we would like to grow this segment. We want to encourage more preventive maintenance before products break down,” she said.
As for the retail customers, most of them come to the stores when they encounter an issue. “The largest share of our customers come in with one specific problem. Many of them are not particularly knowledgeable about the technical aspects of their equipment. We therefore want to raise awareness of the technical expertise available at our workshops and the importance of equipment maintenance,” she added.
“We wanted customers to discover our services through the work we already do, while also increasing our workforce and the number of technicians. We want to attract more and more customers, both for repairs and for the Buy-Back program. Buy-Back is also handled through the workshop, and customers have a single point of contact where they can bring their products. We want to grow both areas: Buy-Back and repairs and maintenance. Our goal is to double our current figures by 2030,” the Sustainability director explained for Romania Insider.
Electric scooters and bicycles account for most repair requests
Bicycles and scooters, both conventional and electric, top the list of items most frequently sent to the central workshop, followed by skis, treadmills, and kayaks. The most requested services include routine maintenance, the replacement of wear-and-tear parts such as inner tubes and tires, and the maintenance of winter sports equipment.
Some pieces of equipment are brought in for repairs several times over their lifespan. One example is a stand-up paddleboard (SUP) that has been repaired three times, accumulating more than 20 patches while remaining safe to use. Inflatable mattresses are also among the products that can be quickly refurbished rather than thrown away.
The 21% increase in repair revenue reflects a shift towards more expensive and complex equipment. More and more customers are bringing in electric bicycles for motor replacements, electronic transmission systems, and frames requiring precision mechanical work. The team’s workload reaches considerable peaks during busy periods, with a record 148 repairs completed in a single day.
The state of the local infrastructure for cycling is visible in the retailer’s product mix.
“Infrastructure influences our product mix because most of the products we handle are children’s products. Adult products are generally used occasionally, for leisure, in parks, so children’s products account for the largest share of our Buy-Back segment. At the workshop, however, adult bicycles account for most repair and maintenance requests. The more we develop the infrastructure, the more urban mobility will grow, creating greater demand for product maintenance,” Gabriela Barbu explained.
Over the past 12 months, 18% of the bicycles sold by the retailer were second-hand, while 50% of the skis sold during the previous ski season were second-hand.
Delivering the services provided by the Regional Workshop requires a high level of technical expertise, bringing the challenge of finding “skilled, technically minded people who can provide the quality we expect while also building a good rapport with customers.” “We are a good training ground for this type of profile. People who are passionate about sports and understand the technical side of things have the foundations we need, and we can develop them into technicians,” she added.
The workshop in Ștefăneștii de Jos has a team of 12 specialists, four of whom also work as regional trainers Photo: Decathlon
Expansion plans for 2027
Next year, Decathlon Romania plans to expand the Regional Workshop’s storage space and invest in specialized technology to detect air leaks in inflatable products. The new technical equipment will streamline workflows and increase the repair rate for inflatable products, a particularly challenging category globally, with more than 22,000 units discarded each year.
The expansion will also involve the introduction of new service categories and an increase in the number of technicians, reinforcing the company’s goal of extending the lifespan of sports equipment.
Decathlon’s repair services are available at all its stores across the country and can also be accessed directly at the Regional Workshop in Ștefăneștii de Jos. The services cover equipment from various brands, with products purchased through the Decathlon network accounting for just 29% of all repairs carried out. The equipment is collected and transported internally to the center in Ilfov County, then returned to the store where it was originally handed in, with no additional transportation costs for customers.
Decathlon, one of the world’s largest multi-specialist sporting goods retailers, currently operates 32 stores across Romania, alongside its online platform and mobile app. The company has been present on the local sporting goods retail market since 2009.
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