News & Insights
Five Questions with Vinnie Hendriks, VP of Digital Design at Decathlon
June 18, 2024
With over 2,000 stores in 69 countries, Decathlon is the world’s largest sporting goods retailer. Over the last year, Vinnie Hendriks, VP of Digital Design, has been spearheading the transformation of Decathlon's digital store. A seasoned retailer who has held top roles at big names like Adidas and Ahold Delhaize (parent group of Work & Co client FreshDirect), he's focused on elevating digital design to meet the company's mission of moving people through the wonders of sport.
Recently, Decathlon has undergone a fundamental shift in its approach, recognizing digital as a distinct experience in its own right rather than merely an extension of the retail experience. We caught up with Vinnie to discuss the implications of this shift, his advice for digital transformation leaders, and the surprising result of the redesign he didn’t anticipate.
Work & Co
Can you give us a peek behind the scenes at Decathlon? What are some of the driving forces shaping your digital products?
Vinnie Hendriks
When I joined Decathlon, we were just starting to think beyond users and customers to how we can help move people through the wonders of sport. ( “Move people through the wonders of sport” is Decathlon’s North Star. It defines its purpose, reflects its long-term ambition, and reinforces the belief that sports are vital to healthier and happier societies. The North Star anchored the current business strategy and informs the ongoing evolution of Decathlon’s digital presence.) I think that's a super cool, ambitious, bold move. My challenge was to raise the visibility of Decathlon by enhancing storytelling around the brand and basically opening the brand up to the world. It’s been great rallying around this goal because it’s one that’s attainable yet has endless potential to unlock for years to come. I’ve been amazed by Decathlon’s level of quality, level of empowerment, and passion—throughout the brands and within every department. I’ve never seen that before. We have the right teams in play, and when coupled with Work & Co's expertise, we can make progress at a speed I’ve never seen before. Compared to previous companies I’ve been at, this transformation was definitely lightyears ahead. The speed to market enabled us to gather data and insights early on. It’s been extremely beneficial for fostering collective learning.
WC
Going into this project, you had an ambitious plan for bold transformation. Can you speak to how this work established a foundation for rapid global scale?
VH
Decathlon’s unique, multi-brand offering gives every shopper options that align with their need, aesthetics, or budget. But one of the bigger challenges this poses is the more choices a person has, the harder a decision is to make. We tried to figure out what the building blocks and things in common were so that we ended up with more similarities than differences. And I think we had a good start. We have a better understanding of the stories that matter and frameworks to tell those stories where the customer is. Digital platforms actually make it more urgent to have the right architecture because you don’t have that same support of somebody in-store who can guide you to purchase by sharing their enthusiasm or expertise on a topic. With our brands and categories being so vast, translating this experience across the entire digital ecosystem from the get go would have been a massive undertaking. The beauty of it though is that once those narratives are defined, and you have the framework to support them, our teams and experts have the autonomy to scale and carry that forward. From my view, that’s the winning formula.
WC
In recent years, sports and the great outdoors have been a haven, attracting more fans and allowing them to feel grounded and escape isolation. How is Decathlon’s new site inspiring people to join this movement to get out and explore?
VH
To speak to the first part of that question, the more you experience ambiguity around you—in the world, your environment, or your personal life—the more, at some point, you want to have balance. I think sport plays a crucial role in achieving this balance, from a biological and a psychological perspective. To begin, the new site is improving users’ experience by unifying our brands. We’ve also really shifted the way users engage with our platforms— going from standard modes that consider online an extension of the in-store retail experience or a list of products- to an opportunity to be inspired, repair your gear, or learn how you can enjoy the outdoors as a family. Broadly, digital is still somehow in an era that pits commerce against brand and assumes digital is just an extension of physical retail. We’re strong in commerce because that’s part of our upbringing. Moving people through the wonders of sport starts with commerce because that’s what people come to us for. We really want to build upon that to hone in on where our users are and what inspires them, ensuring our digital touchpoints aren’t just about selling products but helping people in their journey. Striking the right balance between commerce and storytelling is so important. Part of that journey includes circular consumption. What I find remarkable about Decathlon is that circularity is not just a KPI for us. In everything we do, you can feel how important it is to us. We want to help our customers live more sustainably by proposing services that go beyond new products alone. This requires understanding where our customers are and how our touchpoints help them. In our new digital presence, one of the ways we are doing that is by leaning into the opportunity space of Second Life, preloved products that give every product a sustainable future through repair, refurbishment, and reuse. It’s just the beginning of realizing our dream of a world without so much waste.
WC
Is there anything about the site's performance or the way that customers are engaging with it that has surprised you since the redesign went live?
WC
So the interesting part is, if you elevate the brand perception, but have the same challenges, these challenges are perceived as more problematic. The customer expects everything to be brand-aligned. After the redesign, our NPS went down slightly because it put some of those functional challenges that we already had, let’s say product filtering, under a magnifying glass. So be careful what you wish for. But it's really interesting, right? I think it’s a compliment that users' expectations are higher, but it’s just something I never realized or anticipated before the site redesign. My advice to others starting their journey of transformation is to not ignore the parts of your brand that take more time to overhaul and may not be evolving at the same pace. Having self-awareness and communicating— not apologizing for— your challenges can help alleviate frustrations and create empathy with customers. Transparency goes a long way.
WC
What advice would you give to other brand leaders embarking on their own digital transformation journey? To work collaboratively across the digital ecosystem, how important is it to have clear direction from the top?
VH
Having a holistic view of your brand is critical to success. Our transformation wasn’t just digital, or product, or design, or tech-driven. We looked at the customer opportunity, we looked at what we can bring, and we came up with a solution by creating a shared language. I’ve seen a lot of innovation teams who sketch the future and then nobody buys into it. By painting that picture together, and breaking down barriers between teams, we broke out of that mold. Performing as a whole is part of the Decathlon DNA and it’s such a powerful momentum builder to have everyone swimming in the same direction. If you have a shared belief and the means to get better together, that’s really where the magic happens in digital product development.
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