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Building the future of Sportstech together with startups

WE ARE LOOKING FOR YOU

Join Decathlon Open Innovation, a venture client and resource sharing program between Decathlon and startups that aims to make sport and its benefits more accessible, in a sustainable way, to as many people as possible through digital solutions.

WHAT IS DECATHLON OPEN INNOVATION?

At Decathlon we join forces with startups to make sport and its benefits more accessible, in a sustainable way, to the maximum number of people through digital solutions.

For this reason we have created the Decathlon Open Innovation initiative. We launch challenges that startups must solve through 3-month proofs of concept. The selected startups will have Decathlon resources to support their development.

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WHY DECATHLON?

We are the leader in the Sports industry.

We want to make sports accessible for the many. Together we can do it.

This is what we offer to startups that work with us:

Paid proof of concept

You will carry out a proof of concept of your solution in the most appropriate Decathlon space (stores, ecommerce, marketplace, app…). We don't do POCs for free, Decathlon will pay the startup the amount agreed by both parties.

Depending on the results of the test, Decathlon could become your client or adopt other forms of collaboration.

This will give you access to the market to grow thanks to our diffusion capacity, capillarity and connections in the industry (federations, clients, sports centers, internationalization…).

Bond with Decathlon

You will link the name of your startup with that of Decathlon through the channels and partners of this program.

This will increase your credibility with investors and other partners. It will also increase the confidence of your potential customers.

Industry knowhow

We offer you technical mentoring to get to know the sports market well, how a great brand works and the trends in the sector.

This will help you get to know your target better, improve your service/product and increase your value proposition in the market.

Ecosystem connection

You will establish connections with the sports and entrepreneurial ecosystem. We will invite you to the most relevant events, you will meet investors, clients, partners, federations and other startups with which to collaborate.

We will also help you create connections in other countries to internationalize your solution.

This will save you time, give you insight into what is happening in your ecosystem and create valuable alliances.

WHICH ARE THE EXPLORATION AREAS?

We are currently looking for startups that offer digital solutions in these 3 areas:

SPORTSTECH

Our goal is to solve all the problems or challenges in the life of an athlete through digital solutions.

We are currently focusing in these sports:

Fitness sports.
Outdoors sports.
Performance sports (Swimming, Clycing, Running).

CIRCULAR ECONOMY

We give a second life to the products you no longer use to protect our playing field: the planet.

That is why we explore innovative circular economy solutions:

Recycling of textile or plastic material.
Second life related business models for sports products.
Repairability.
Rental or similar business models.

ECOMMERCE TECH

Decathlon's marketplace makes the sport more accessible since we are available online 24/7and we offer the widest range of sport products to find the best option for each person.

That is why we explore digital solutions that help in:

Increase relevant traffic.
User experience personalization.
CRO improvement.
Payment solutions that offer new or better alternatives to users.

Check the active challenges

WHICH STARTUPS ARE WE LOOKING FOR?

The startups that apply to the program must meet the following characteristics:

Company created & in early growth stage

2 full time founders minimum

With traction and metrics

You share the Decathlon sense

Startups from any country

Digital solutions for Sportstech, circular economy, ecommerce tech

You provide a solution to our challenges

You have a scalable business model

To learn more about our activity and calls for projects, join the Decathlon Open Innovation Linkedin page:

HOW DOES THE PROGRAM WORK?

During the year, we will launch different challenges to which startups must propose a solution.

In each challenge, we will follow these steps:

Opening of the application period

We launch the challenge from our Linkedin page and through our innovation partners. It will also be available on this website.

Closure of applications and start of the selection process

Our teams, together with our innovation partners, will analyze each proposal to select the most appropriate to the challenge posed.

Finalists selection

A committee will select the finalist startups, which will participate in 2 working days with our teams to prepare a collaboration proposal.

Interviews and final selection

Meetings and work sessions will be held between the finalist startups and the Decathlon teams. Through these dynamics, the startups that will enter the program will be selected. The result will be communicated a few days later.

Start of the program and development of the proof of concept

The program will start with an invitation to the headquarters of Decathlon Spain in Madrid. The selected startups will meet in person the Decathlon Spain central services teams, with whom they will work side by side developing the proof of concept of their solution.

Program clausure

A committee will evaluate the results of the program and decide whether or not to continue the collaboration between Decathlon and the Startup.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Please remember:

1) The Decathlon Open Innovation program does not include a capital investment by Decathlon for the selected startups.

2) This is an Equity free program. The selected startups will have the opportunity to count on Decathlon as a corporate partner without having to lose equity for it. We believe in the founding teams and trust their company management.