International sporting brand Decathlon has welcomed the resolution with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) after being fined for a labelling issue.

Among its products sold in Australia, the labelling for two of these product types – basketball rings and backboards and portable swimming pools – contained labelling in accordance with European and Singapore standards instead of Australian standards.

“These products now carry labels in accordance with Australian requirements, as do all of our products,” Decathlon Australia CEO, Olivier Robinet said.

“As soon as we were made aware of the European labelling in 2018, we withdrew the products from sale and updated the labels for the Australian market. We are grateful to the ACCC and the Federal Court of Australia for their assistance in resolving the labelling issue.”

The Federal Court of Australia handed down a fine of $1.5 million and Decathlon has since implemented additional Australian market focused labelling compliance and quality assurance systems across the business.

“With this matter behind us we are continuing to focus on our growth and expansion across Australia including the opening of our new store in South Morang, Victoria, which will swing open its doors in a few months just in time for Christmas and create 50 new jobs for sports passionate people,” Robinet said

“As a brand and one of the world’s largest sporting goods designers and retailers, we are proud of our heritage and our commitment to helping and supporting people to be active and participate in sport and recreation in a safe, fun and affordable way. Through our low-cost approach, we make sport accessible for many.  

“We have been researching, developing and testing high quality sporting products for over 45 years and our engineers and designers are among the best in the world.  We operate in over 57 countries and we work hard to deliver products and labelling for each and every product that meets the requirements of each jurisdiction.”