Quechua (/ˈkɛtʃᵊwə/, /ˈkɛtʃuːə/ or /ˈkɛtʃwɑː/; Spanish pronunciation: [ˈketʃwa]) is the trademarked French brand for the hiking and camping apparel and equipment marketed mostly by French company Decathlon. Created as a brand in 1997 in Domancy, France, by a group of nine Decathlon employees, the group launched its first products in the spring of 1998 in all Decathlon stores, geared toward hikers and campers. The brand's design center is in Sallanches, near Mont Blanc. Its name derives from the indigenous Quechua people of the Andes and their language.

Timeline

Technical partnership

Quechua has partnerships with groups such as mountain guides, national team of young mountaineers and the Ifremmont Institute of Mountain Medical Research. It works with advisers in hiking (Hélène Rochas, Grégory Vollet, Vincent Delebarre, Dachhiri Sherpa), climbing (David Caude) and adventure racing (Quechua Team).