His appointment as head of Decathlon caused a small earthquake in the world of distribution and sport. In January 2022, Barbara Martin Coppola became the first woman to take charge of the family business, which today has more than 1,750 stores worldwide, including 325 in France. Recruited externally, a first for a manager of the brand, this Franco-Spanish forty-year-old is a specialist in digital transformation.
Having worked with the Swedish group Ikea, whose digital strategy she led vigorously, but also through Google and Samsung, Barbara Martin Coppola has worked since her arrival to initiate the digital shift of the brand present in nearly 70 countries. Its objective is ambitious: to make this emblematic French company, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2026, the world No. 1 in sporting goods ahead of the giants Nike and Adidas. With L’Express, she sets out her plan of attack and her ambitions.
L’Express: You declared when you arrived that your objective was to make Decathlon number 1 in the distribution of sporting goods. How do you plan to achieve this?
Barbara Martin Coppola: We are rethinking quite a few aspects across three main areas. The first is the customer experience, which goes beyond products, to take the consumer into an immersive, omnichannel and inspiring experience. We are also going to evolve our brand image, since Decathlon is above all a distributor store brand and less of a sports brand. Then, we will move towards a more responsible model. I am thinking of circularity with second life, rental, reparability, with an important focus on models that allow us to decarbonize our impact and reuse the materials we have produced, once, twice, three times, or even more . And then there is operational excellence. Digital will transform our value chain which is “end-to-end” [de bout en bout] : we design products, we work with materials, we carry out transport with logistics to the stores. Few companies rely on a value chain as integrated as that of Decathlon. There are multiple opportunities to modernize it.
How can Decathlon stand out from Nike and Adidas?
Becoming No. 1 is not an end in itself. What makes Decathlon strong is its humanist aspect, with very good values. I think it’s a strength to have this real passion for all the benefits that sport can bring. But Decathlon can go much further, for several reasons. The first is that we cover 85 sports. There is no equivalent in the world. The second thing is our integrated value chain. We have stores on four continents, in almost 70 countries and a logistics network, as well as a network of production partners in 47 countries. We can make sport accessible to everyone. In India, for example, Decathlon has real strength in democratizing sports practice. Last element: with innovation, we can not only offer accessible products, but also move upmarket. Our Van Rysel bikes are the fastest in the world. We now make marathon shoes that are used by world champions to win races. Technicality and know-how can be pushed very far.
Why did you make this shift towards high-level sport?
The know-how is in the house. We are working with our “team athletes” for the 2024 Olympics. These current and future champions are amazed by the possibilities offered by Decathlon to co-create products with them and for them in many different areas. What a chance to be able to support high-level athletes and also to be able to develop all the innovation that goes with it. The objective is to then be able to bring it to as many people as possible.
You are a specialist in digital transformation. What strategies are you implementing in this area?
It’s already about understanding that business and digital must evolve hand in hand throughout the company. The algorithms that we can produce, when we combine them with logistics operations, give us the possibility of exponentially improving the customer experience, in order to be able to deliver orders in record time and ensure that this is economically beneficial to Decathlon.
It can be applied to all areas: human resources, to better understand our teammates [collaborateurs], up to finance. It is also a human transformation. When we talk about digital, we very often think of the system, of the code, when it is the human being who is central, because we have to reinvent ourselves.
Will this digital transformation benefit profitability?
Profitability is not the priority objective. It’s more of a way to invest. We sell physical products, but we have started to develop a way to support the sport after the purchase. All these new territories require investments in new skills. How can we ensure that the power of our offers is even greater? This also involves modernizing our assets with all our stores.
How do you plan to improve your brand image?
I have been a Decathlon customer almost since I was born! I’m from Spain, but I’m half French, so I grew up with this brand. As soon as I took office, I was amazed by the depth of the professions, the knowledge that the employees have of each sport and of anatomy. I think that, from the outside, we don’t suspect all this wealth. We need to open up to the world and present Decathlon in a very authentic way to be able to connect more and improve our notoriety. We are seen as a brand of retail rather than a sports brand, while we design products and have all the know-how and innovation behind it to be positioned as such.
Why review your strategy in terms of brands and significantly reduce their number?
The most important aspect is to refocus on the customer. And, for the readability of the offers to be better, having fewer brands will allow this simplification. Which does not mean reducing the supply. This means grouping together so that clients understand that we are a multi-specialist and not a generalist. Mountain sports, for example, let’s bring them together under a single brand, so that all the know-how and innovation behind them are clearly identified under the same name.
Today, you produce a large part of your products abroad. Do you intend to produce more locally, particularly in Europe?
Circularity is very important to us, and we are pushing the boundaries in several areas. When we rent bicycles for children, these are actually very local actions: recovery, repair, shaping to be able to reuse them.
But we have global suppliers, each with their own know-how. We produce in 47 countries, with long-standing partners who support us in these new business models. For now, we want to remain diversified in all these geographies since, historically, this has been successful for Decathlon.
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