Decathlon, one of the world's biggest sports retailers, plans to make more sporting goods in Thailand after opening nine stores here.
Frederic Bichet, chief executive of Decathlon Thailand, said the company will gradually increase local production of its goods, lowering store prices by more than 20%.
Decathlon imports most of the items it sells in Thailand. Locally made products account for only 10% of its goods.
"We expect to double the proportion of locally produced goods to 20% next year," Mr Bichet said.
Having more locally made products will give Thai consumers easier access to products at Decathlon stores.
The first Decathlon stores in Thailand were opened last year. It now has seven in Bangkok and one each in Pattaya and Chiang Mai.
"Our expansion in Thailand is faster than in other countries," Mr Bichet said. "We took almost two years to open nine stores here, while we spend around one year to open one store in other countries."
He said Decathlon Thailand will continue to expand its local store network in the near future but did not disclose any figures.
Thailand has great potential to open more Decathlon stores because of its large population and Thais' love of sports. The country also has many mountains and beaches attracting people to play outdoor sports, he said.
Thai consumers are also increasingly concerned about their health and this will benefit Decathlon's business, said Mr Bichet.
"We believe we will be successful in the Thai market because of our unique product offerings with prices 20% lower than other sporting good brands," he said.
France has a population of 80 million and about 380 Decathlon stores. Thailand has a population of almost 70 million and has huge room to grow its sporting good retail business, said Mr Bichet.
Decathlon posted sales of €10 billion (380 billion baht) last year.
There are over 1,000 Decathlon stores in 28 countries.
The company has production bases in 30 countries. Of the total, eight factories are its own and the remaining 22 belong to its partners.
Decathlon has been manufacturing products in Thailand since 1989 at its factory in Bang Phli district, Samut Prakan.
Apart from Thailand, Decathlon has one store in Malaysia and two in Singapore.
The company plans to open its first store in the Philippines in the near future, said Mr Bichet.