DECATHLON and Lemonway joined forces to launch a secure, scalable marketplace across 10 countries in just six months.

Founded in 1976 in France, DECATHLON creates and distributes sports products online and in stores. A leader in the sports market, the company has 1,696 points of sale and is present in no less than 59 countries. To consolidate its online presence and become the leader in the digital sports offer, DECATHLON wanted to create not one, but 10 marketplaces. Belgium, Germany, France, Spain, the United Kingdom, Italy, Poland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Portugal... 

Between March and September 2021, 10 marketplaces were created and DECATHLON trusted Lemonway to guarantee the security of payment to buyers and sellers on its platforms. A look back at a successful collaboration.

DECATHLON: the marketplace to make sport accessible to as many people as possible

Well-known among sportsmen and women, DECATHLON made a turning point in its digital strategy in 2020 by deciding to transform its e-commerce site into a marketplace. Although the initiative originated in Belgium very quickly attracted other countries and marketplaces projects, gradually flourished within the DECATHLON group.

This repositioning is above all a response to customer demand: “Every year in our surveys, our customers told us that they could not find enough international brands, i.e., brands other than DECATHLON, on our site. Bringing all the brands together under one roof seemed complicated, we had to be able to do this in a lively way and platform mode. The marketplace model met these challenges,” explains Nicolas Deltenre, Head of Digital, who led the launch of the Belgian marketplace. 

From small craftsmen to specialised wholesalers, DECATHLON wanted to create a platform that would bring together a group of partners with values like those of the brand. Creating a DECATHLON marketplace was also an opportunity for the brand to broaden its offer around sports, by moving towards wellness and fitness products. All of this while ensuring that services are aligned in delivery times and returns management, in line with customer expectations. To make this project a reality, DECATHLON chose to be  accompanied by marketplace experts.

Why DECATHLON chose Lemonway as its PSP for its 10 marketplaces 

Once it had found its marketplace maker, DECATHLON set out to find the right payment service provider to ensure the blocking and maintenance of payment accounts, which are inherent to a marketplace project. To find the ideal financial partner, DECATHLON was looking for:

• Experience in the field
• Flexibility and adaptability
• A PSP that can grow and evolve with the platform
   

Above all, DECATHLON wanted to keep control of the acceptance and acquisition of flows, to be able to continue to use its UpstreamPay tool, which is presented as a PSP super-aggregator. In this respect, Lemonway was the only player on the market capable of offering it by the regulator’s expectations. The functional bricks and the modularity of Lemonway’s offer convinced DECATHLON. Between March and September 2021, Lemonway accompanied DECATHLON in the launch of 10 marketplaces

DECATHLON x Lemonway: a winning partnership to go further

Although the collection of the various documents required for KYC procedures may have been a challenge at first, DECATHLON is delighted with the partnership established with Lemonway, which has enabled the marketplace model to be duplicated in 10 other countries in record time. From now on, a Belgian partner is known to the Belgian platform - for which the KYC has already been validated - can sell its products on the German or Portuguese marketplace. The onboarding of sellers has been simplified and harmonised, allowing marketplaces in different countries to put products online and save precious time quickly.

Belgium, Germany, France, Spain, United Kingdom, Italy, Poland, Netherlands, Switzerland, Portugal... DECATHLON marketplaces are opening one after the other and other platforms could still be created, according to the will of each country that operates independently. A dazzling development that Lemonway is proud to support.