“Belgium is an example for business around the world”

Sports chain Decathlon is testing a fixed monthly subscription for rental of sports equipment and apparel at two of its stores. In Decathlon stores it has been possible for some time to rent ski equipment instead of buying it, for example. The monthly subscription responds to a growing trend in the Belgian sports world.

Decathlon offers customers of stores in Antwerp and Alior near Liège the opportunity to borrow equipment and clothing for several sports for a fixed monthly subscription. The French chain says that this was done after a test it conducted in our country with seventy customers. For a monthly fee, they can borrow all Decathlon sports equipment and clothing, with the exception of safety products and consumables.

Decathlon offers customers a choice of three subscriptions for a monthly amount of €25, €50 and €95. Each variant gives customers the right to borrow an amount of items, limited according to the new value of that item. Subscribers can keep products for as long as they want. If they no longer need the loaned items or want to use other items, they must return the items clean and intact.

Unrestricted athlete

Decathlon’s new formulas are compared to the streaming service Netflix or the concept of a library. The series responds to the emerging sports trend in our country: the growth of the breakaway athlete. “More and more people are actively exercising, while relatively fewer people are visiting sports clubs,” Professor Jeroen Scherder, professor of kinesiology at the University of Leuven, recently said in an article by: trends About Sparkx Sports Park in Hasselt.

Many people want to decide for themselves what sport to practice and when. They’re looking for a certain flexibility that they don’t find in a traditional club environment. What can hold a breakaway athlete back is the lack of equipment and infrastructure needed to practice the sport they want. This is much less of a problem in our neighboring countries.

“Unlike Germany, for example, in Flanders we are less familiar with the concept of all-in-one sports clubs, which are associations where you can play multiple sports with one subscription,” says Scherder. Formulas such as Multimove and the Sports After School Card have already been around for children for some time. Loan subscriptions like the one offered by Decathlon respond to the rise of the discrete athlete.

“When we have 1,000 subscribers, we will evaluate. If the first year is not too bad, we can move quickly Expansion in Belgium and beyond

Nathan Godefroy, Decathlon Project Manager

Belgium as an example

Decathlon still describes the subscription expansion into two of its stores as an “exploratory phase” in its press release. There are 150 entries available when registrations open. The capacity will be increased every month to 1000 subscribers. The two stores in Belgium are the first to work on this project. They could serve as an example if the formula is rolled out in other countries.

“The idea originated with our team in Belgium and we already have a broader process here around the circular economy,” says Nathan Godefroy, We Play Circular project manager at Decathlon. “When we have 1,000 subscribers, we will evaluate. If the first year is not too bad, we can expand quickly in Belgium and beyond. If there is room for improvement, we can improve the concept. It is difficult to predict where this concept will go, for example, after Three years Decathlon has more than 2,190 stores in 57 countries around the world.

Improving products for lending

Monthly subscriptions are often the preferred way for businesses to generate revenue in a stable manner. Goddefroy points to three goals. “We want to make sport more accessible to customers and, of course, grow economically, but at the same time reduce our environmental footprint. This fits in with the climate goals of our brand in Belgium and globally.

Decathlon is already preparing for the expected consumption peak. “With our existing loan service for individual products, we already see that demand for skis increases when it snows, while everyone wants to go kayaking when it’s sunny. So it’s about responding to demand. The advantage is that we design and produce most of our products ourselves, which allows “We anticipate rapidly changing demand, including when it comes to overall supply. We are also already looking at how to design our products in a way that makes them easier to repair. This is interesting in the context of a lending service,” Godefroy stresses.

Logistics process

As for the practical side of the lending service, the Decathlon director points to the experience the chain already has in the field of equipment lending. “We have been loaning out individual items for some time and we also buy and sell used items. But the fact that we are gradually increasing the number of subscribers is to be well logistically prepared for potential growth.

“Assuming this project becomes larger, it is not the case that all the materials are permanently stocked in all the stores. All the items are centralized in our distribution center in Wellbrook. The customer starts his subscription on the site. There he chooses which materials he wants to loan for the coming days, weeks or months. The products are delivered to the stores and the delivery time may vary depending on the product. This ranges from a few days to a maximum of a week. The customer can then collect them from the chosen store.

Read also: