Bengaluru, Sept. 11 -- Decathlon India's wholesale business has grown from a sideline into a meaningful growth engine. After expanding 20-fold in five years to currently contribute about 10% of India revenue, the French sporting goods retailer is eyeing the country's under-penetrated markets for its next leg of growth, wholesale director Raghwendra Singh told Mint in an interview.

Decathlon's next leg of business-to-business (B2B) growth could come from primary schools, smaller cities, government sports programmes and sporting communities, he said. Over 80% of India's population lives beyond tier-1 cities, Singh said, pitching 'Bharat'-or India beyond the metros-as a significant frontier for the retailer's wholesale business.

In the ret...