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dc.contributor.authorAntonio Crespo, Tomás
dc.contributor.authorTernavskiy, Alexey
dc.contributor.authorConvens, Sacha
dc.date.accessioned2021-04-27T19:01:43Z
dc.date.available2021-04-27T19:01:43Z
dc.date.issued2020
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12127/6674
dc.description.abstractThe increasing awareness of the environment on the population has led to dramatic changes in the way companies conduct their business. Both the public and private sector have proactively been assessing the impact of businesses in the environment and these investigations have revealed new ways of running companies and new ways of production, raw materials, business models and a different way to establish and maintain relationships with the customers. Though the term “Circular Economy” was born in the 60’s, it has become a common expression today and care for the environment is an ever-growing trend as the world fights for living in a better world. Decathlon is no exception to this trend, and is planning to become a more sustainable, environmentally friendly company by the end of the 2020 decade. This requires the revisiting of not only the production process and materials used for making products, but also the way business is conducted in terms of value proposition, revenue streams and customer relationships. This report was commissioned to Vlerick Business School in order to design a profitable business model that can be rolled out quickly in Belgium for the mountain sports product category. The results and content of this report are backed by a comprehensive literature review, qualitative and quantitative research and interviews with employees from Decathlon, as well as research on how different companies operate their businesses in the field of B2C rental. Findings from the qualitative and quantitative research support the idea of launching a rental business model. There seems to be a specific group of people for whom this solution is attractive enough for them to enjoy. The main characteristics of the individuals in this particular segment are in line with Decathlon’s goals: Care for the environment, want to save storage space, test new equipment and enjoy outdoor activities without necessarily owning any equipment. The rental service proposed therefore offers customers the possibility to practice sports at a convenient daily fee, allowing users to test the equipment, eliminating the pains of storing and maintaining equipment for the user, while also caring for the environment by reusing the same products for different rentals. One key element discussed in this report is pricing. Customers will need to adapt to a different way of consuming goods. This implies a new pricing structure, which was developed considering the findings from a Van Westendorp analysis and the benchmarking against other players in the field. A system of discounts is discussed as well, serving as a motivation to rent for longer periods of time, which decreases the internal costs of handling the gear. One interesting finding is that the lower the retail price of a product is, the less time it takes to recover the investment done in purchasing it by to be used for the rental model. The service is planned to be rolled out in Belgium, in stages following a Lean Startup methodology, by testing the offer first at small scale in 5 stores, located in Antwerp, Schelle, Kortrijk, Evere and Mons first, and later on rolling out the solution at national level in Belgium, also adapting the offering following customer’s feedback. The first stage will focus on camping equipment, following the results of the market research. Camping is the perfect sport to kick off the project given the wide variety of items available for rental in the category, as well as the season in which the service will be rolled out. Two offerings will be available first: A single tent and a bundle kit. The bundle kit will provide customers with a tent, a table, a stove and a pump and a certain number of chairs and mattresses depending on the number of people that will use the tent. Furthermore, the chosen model is the Air Seconds one, given its quality and convenience, both for the customer but also for the employees to repair. The tents available will go from 4 to 6 people capacity following the results from the market research. The second stage will focus on hiking and trekking equipment, and the enhancement of the service, initiating collaborations with stores in France and Germany and developing a website and a deposit system. The third stage should go around all three sports, leveraging the existing logistics structure that Decathlon has in place.
dc.language.isoen
dc.titleCircular business model development and implementation strategy for the mountain sports product category
dc.source.numberofpages177
vlerick.knowledgedomainMarketing & Sales
vlerick.supervisorTackx, Koen
dc.identifier.vperid107025
vlerick.companynameDecathlon
vlerick.companysupervisorLamon, Bohdan
vlerick.programmeMDT
vlerick.typebusresprojectIn-Company Project


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