We expect France-based apparel and sports retailer Decathlon's sales will drop materially from the €12.3 billion reported in 2019, given governments' COVID-19 lockdown measures that closed the majority of its stores. Despite Decathlon's measures to mitigate the lockdown effects and preserve cash, the steep decline in sales will considerably weaken the group's credit metrics in 2020. We expect the group's strong record of 10%-15% annual growth to resume in 2022, however, and alongside a clear focus on deleveraging, it should restore credit ratios over the next 24 months, such that our adjusted debt to EBITDA returns below 2x. We are therefore affirming our 'A-2' short-term rating on Decathlon. Decathlon is one of the largest athletic footwear, apparel, and sports equipment
