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Founded in 1976, DECATHLON is one of the most well-known sports brands in the world. Present in 78 countries, the company relies on over 100,000 employees to bring its new purpose to life: “Move People Through the Wonders of Sport.” For years, DECATHLON has been democratizing access to sports, particularly by offering high-quality products to sports enthusiasts, both amateurs and professionals, under renowned private brands (Quechua, Tribord, Van Rysel, etc.).

Sustainability is a key strategic focus for DECATHLON, and the company has set itself a major goal: carbon neutrality by 2050. Numerous actions have already been implemented, such as the product rental offer. But how can DECATHLON succeed in changing customer habits and transition from a purchase model to a rental model? How can the business model for this activity be adjusted to allow it to grow more rapidly and take the place it should occupy, especially in order to meet its decarbonization goals?

This is why Steeve CRU, Commercial Director – Rental Offer at DECATHLON and a 1999 graduate of the school, came to meet with third-year students in the Bachelor in International Business program at IÉSEG. The objective given to the students was simple: how can DECATHLON develop its rental offer and accelerate its deployment both digitally and in stores by rethinking its business model and identifying new development opportunities?

For Catherine ARCHAMBAULT-JANVIER, Strategy and Sustainability professor at IÉSEG, “This project with DECATHLON is very different from what we’ve done in previous years with Boulanger, KIABI, or Grand Scène. Here, the goal is not to propose creative ideas, but to conduct a deep strategic analysis. A further challenge is the lack of data available on the rental offers of major retailers, so it was essential to understand the rental process for each product, map out every step of the process, from design to customer experience, and identify where the obstacles lie. It was a very rich experience, but perhaps more challenging to carry out. Every year, students are presented with increasingly ambitious issues. To meet DECATHLON’s expectations, they needed to consider strategic dimensions, logistics, change management, and employee support… Students will face these challenges more and more in the workplace, so it’s an excellent learning opportunity for them to confront these issues during their studies… and they all provided very interesting and innovative answers!”

The strategic positioning of the rental activity within the company, product design to extend lifespan, maintenance, logistics, activity monitoring tools, in-store implementation, adaptation of the rental digital platform, employee engagement, marketing positioning… After a month of reflection and work, each group presented their recommendations to Steeve CRU and proposed an original action plan to address the company’s challenge. Most importantly, the Bachelor students brought their very international perspective, which added depth to their analysis and proposals.

“As an IÉSEG graduate, I was keen to reconnect with the school to contribute to the development of students and, most importantly, allow them to make their learning tangible by working on real business transformation issues, particularly around circularity. I particularly appreciated the energy and commitment of the students, not only in conducting a thorough analysis using tools studied in class, but also in making concrete recommendations on the questions posed. Given the limited data available to them, due to the youth of our rental project within DECATHLON, the work they did is even more impressive. Some groups customized their presentations in DECATHLON style, others managed to use their interdisciplinary knowledge to enrich their proposals, and it was really a pleasant surprise. We will now take the time to thoroughly review all the reports submitted by each group, synthesize the proposals, evaluate their relevance and feasibility, and thus benefit from this fresh perspective on our activity. It’s always a pleasure and a source of pride to see the interest that DECATHLON generates among students,” says Steeve CRU.

And Alice BERTHOU, a student in the Bachelor in International Business program, concludes: “This project was fascinating! I am a passionate athlete, so I have a strong connection with this company, which I know very well. The project really stimulated our critical thinking, and we had to draw on all the knowledge we’ve acquired since joining the Bachelor in International Business. We tried to propose different, hopefully new ideas, but it was sometimes difficult because we didn’t always have a clear vision of how the company operates, and we would have liked to have more data and additional information… but it was, in any case, a very formative and stimulating experience. Later, I would like to start my career as a Data Analyst in a global strategy consulting firm, and I will likely face exactly this kind of issue based on a brief similar to the one we had. So, it’s a great educational experience, and a rare opportunity to confront real business situations while still being a student.”