Analysis: Decathlon To Deal With The Three Secrets Of Electric Business

In the Chinese market with keen electricity supplier, which entity retailer can shoot the chest and say that we are not afraid of the electricity supplier? Actually, there are.

Think of which store is the most popular on weekends? One is IKEA, the other is Decathlon.

The same blue logo, the same full open shelf display, IKEA is everyone's living room and bedroom, Decathlon is every child's amusement, they run on the bicycle and scooter full field, gallop on the trampoline not to come down, easy to extricate parents hurried to the treadmill to run two steps, or into the clothing District pick the crow season.

This is the three most typical Decathlon half day tour on weekends.

Many people think that Decathlon is the "IKEA" of sports brand, and the core magic weapon they fight against electric business is to experience the economy.

Decathlon makes customers look like a duck in water. Shopping guide only appears when you greet them. Try 5 clothes, buy no one and no one will give you a look.

Not just kids, Decathlon encourages everyone to try their products, roller skating, bicycles and fitness equipment.

The large area in the central area of the roller skating area is used as the test area. The railings are convenient for beginners. Besides roller skates, helmets and a full set of protective clothing, they can be worn on the upper body.

The resulting attrition rate hurts traditional stores, but Decathlon thinks this is part of the business.

Decathlon is the IKEA of sports brand. It uses unique design, compressed supply chain costs and experiential stores to fight against e-commerce.

In addition to the experience area, every Decathlon mall has sports grounds, basketball badminton and five people football field. Weekends often hold competitions and various activities, as well as professional coach guidance.

A large number of physical stores were squeezed by the electricity supplier business, or even closed down. Decathlon has never been short of customers. It often queues for more than 10 minutes.

But simply relying on the word "experience economy" is not enough to explain Decathlon's password four.

Recently, some foreign brands similar to the Decathlon model have begun to enter the Chinese market, but brand recognition is far from Decathlon.

A few years ago, Gome holdings had invested in the establishment of Gome sports and tried to replicate the model, but it did not bear fruit.

You know, after the rise of the electricity supplier, Decathlon itself did not resist the electricity supplier. In 2010, when Decathlon did not complete the store target in the store layout, Decathlon chose to cooperate with Tmall and began to walk on two legs with the help of the electronic business platform.

Four years later, Decathlon's e-commerce platform has increased by 300%, but its offline platform has also maintained a 50% growth.

The growth of the electricity supplier has not affected the expansion of the Decathlon line. In the future Decathlon will still focus on the entity store.

People can not learn, electricity providers can not fight down, what is the secret of Decathlon?

Article 1: not low price, cost-effective

Thirty or forty yuan quick drying

More than 100.

These Decathlon products are called blue goods. They are placed in the most prominent position in the market, at least 20% lower than the same products on the market.

Although this kind of commodity is low in gross interest rate, but the stock turnover is high, it can attract a lot of people.

Li Yan, former general manager of Gome sports office, said.

This can explain why the lower priced tail goods are hidden in the corner, which are limited in quantity and can not bring mass sales.

While Chinese partners are trying to raise prices and compete for high-end market, Decathlon firmly grasped the main line of mass consumption.

Lining has paid a painful price for the premature brand upgrade, and Decathlon has identified the "mass line" from the beginning, though it comes from France, the birthplace of luxury goods.

In China, 2/3 of consumers are price sensitive, and their brand loyalty is very low. "Opponents only cut 20 yuan, they immediately abandon you".

But low price is not a magic weapon for Decathlon.

Although in the interview, the word has been repeatedly mentioned by Decathlon executives.

Decathlon can't win Taobao and Shanzhai only by low price. Even Tmall's sales in Decathlon flagship store are still at the top.

Some colleagues satirize Decathlon to sell the brand price of the stalls, but Decathlon proves that the fact is that the price is the key to its success.

In 2010, Decathlon launched a sweater price of 49 yuan, with a fabric density of 200 grams. At that time, the product density at the same price was below 200 grams. The higher the density of the fleece, the better the warmth retention.

This kind of sweater has become popular rapidly. It is called "God clothes" by donkey friends. It has been popular for several years.

Decathlon's waterproof mountaineering shoes are self-developed NOVODRY fabric, the price is about 300 yuan, while the outdoor brand waterproof mountaineering shoes price is above 500 yuan.

An agent who specializes in fast drying sportswear told this reporter that Decathlon sold 30 multi speed dry T-shirt in the industry. It seems that the "tens of fast drying T-shirts on the Internet can't be really fast, and the fabric costs are not enough."

In order to maximize cost savings, Decathlon has no shoe boxes for all shoes, which is hard for Chinese consumers to accept.

Decathlon and high-end professional brands are not comparable, but they offer better choices at the same price.

With the price impact of blue goods, Decathlon's influence has far exceeded that of sports.

In 2014, the Quechua brand, a $29 shoulder bag, became popular. From student to aunt, it became a veritable Street bag.

In 2012, UNIQLO launched the market with its $499 light duty down jacket. After a year, Decathlon launched a light down jacket priced at 399 yuan. By 2014, Decathlon's light down jacket had already cut off a large piece of cake in the market.

Second: loyalty of private brand

Another advantage of Decathlon is its overall coverage, from outdoor sports, running to equestrian and fishing, and a small number of sports enthusiasts will not return empty handed.

Decathlon has divided 20 sub brands according to sports category. The most famous brands in China are Quechua, fitness brand Domyos, running brand Kalenji, bicycle brand BTwin and roller skating brand Oxelo for outdoor and mountain sports.

In Decathlon, many products may not be able to guess the use of appearance, such as Trident like foot massager and strength training elastic belt, which is also one of the fun of visiting Decathlon.

Interestingly, consumers are far less aware of these brands than Decathlon. Many people only know that the shoes on their feet are bought in Decathlon, but they can not name the Kalenji.

Li Yan thinks this is the characteristic of Decathlon. "Every brand can not see much influence alone, and the power comes out together."

In the retail industry, independent brands have been regarded as the commanding heights of enterprise development. WAL-MART and Carrefour are pushing their own brands, but none of them achieves Decathlon, and more than 90% of the stores are private brands.

Decathlon provides entry-level rather than event level products, and its main group is "sports white" rather than enthusiasts (although Decathlon executives have different views on this point).

Those who are not professional enough to spray Decathlon on the Internet also admit that many people start their Decathlon for the first time.

A German bicycle brand agent told me that his first bicycle was also bought at Decathlon. "Decathlon's bicycle is made in Shenzhen, and it is definitely losing money with Decathlon's accessories, materials and workmanship.

But its accessories like watches, helmets and kettles still make money.

Although he had changed an imported car in two years, he did not think there was anything wrong with Decathlon's strategy. "The meaning of entry-level is to let more people touch bicycles before they can like this sport."

Decathlon's brand loyalty is not equal to "lifelong consumers". No matter running, mountaineering, riding or skiing, many people start with Decathlon, replace the advanced brand after one or two years of play, some people will buy more expensive professional brand.

Like running, Decathlon's Kalenji is very good at entry, light, shock-absorbing, and cheap enough.

But when you run four or more kilometers 5 times a week or even prepare to try 10 kilometers, you will consider replacing Nike, ADI, or Alex and Suo Connie.

Third: a highly vertical supply chain.

Before Decathlon, there were two modes of China's sporting goods industry. The first one was Lining and Anta manufacturers, from design, production to distributor channels, and the brand agents such as Tao Bo and cross world. They also operate multiple foreign brands in the hand, and enhance the channel value through the layout of terminal stores.

In recent years, with the nationwide fitness craze, there are new brands such as Pathfinder, Keller stone and Sanfo, but the operation mode is nothing less than the two mentioned above.

Decathlon controls the two ends of the industry chain, and focuses on product design, raw material procurement and shopping malls operation. The manufacturing links in the middle are completed by OEM manufacturers.

It is very similar to IKEA, which uses unique design, compressed supply chain costs and self built shopping malls to form brand competitiveness.

Decathlon's French headquarters is known as the second largest French design center after Renault, and all products from the world are sold here.

In 2012, Decathlon launched the first outdoor tent that can be opened in just two seconds. Before setting up a tent, two adults need to spend at least half an hour. This lazy tent has been well received by the market and its colleagues have followed up.

Decathlon designs products according to sports category rather than by region, that is to say, the styles sold in Decathlon stores all over the world are the same.

Chinese consumers often complain that Decathlon's sleeves and trousers are significantly longer and the version is more suitable for Europeans and Americans.

But from the perspective of supply chain, it is possible to achieve the optimal cost of mass production with the smallest number of styles.

So the styles of Decathlon clothes are changing over and over again. They only change in color and detail every season, just like UNIQLO, with the basic funds as the main ones.

In 2003, Decathlon opened its first shopping mall in Pudong, Shanghai, and moved its Asian headquarters from Hongkong to Shanghai.

In fact, as early as in 1995, Decathlon set up the Shanghai branch, which is one of the 20 Decathlon sourcing companies worldwide.

Data show that Decathlon's production base is located in 16 countries all over the world, and China is one of them.

Decathlon's factories in China are distributed in East China and Southern China, such as textile factories located in Shanghai and bicycles from Shenzhen factories.

According to statistics, Decathlon produces more than 40% of its goods in China. The intuitive perception of Chinese consumers is that more than 70% of the goods in the mall are made in China.

However, with the rise of labor costs in China, some of the orders have been pferred to Southeast Asia, for example, many of the shoes are made in Vietnam.

Decathlon pursues global sourcing. Some highly skilled materials are provided by designated suppliers and need to be shipped to China's processing plants after being purchased from abroad. This is known as "customer supply".

More importantly, Decathlon performs the same test standards as those in Europe for products sold in China.

Usually, the shoes in the supermarket are very heavy, and the shoes of Decathlon do not smell much. The clerk told me that the shoes of Decathlon accord with the European Union's certification standards from the leather materials to the glue, and the inspection of children's shoes is more stringent.

Some people go to Decathlon to buy children's clothing, that is, safety and environmental protection.

Decathlon's ten years in China have also contributed to the growth of suppliers.

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