Để khách tự do trải nghiệm cũng là cách bán hàng - Adams Nguyễn Thiên Bảo, Store Director, Decathlon

Core business model & customer proposition (Decathlon Vietnam store strategy)

• Mission / positioning: “Sport for all” and “All sports under one roof,” designed as a beginner-to-advanced shopping journey that helps customers assemble complete outfits/equipment for a sport.
• Store layout: Sport-based merchandising (not product-category based). Customers are guided by sport first, enabling them to shop head-to-toe without constantly moving across the store.
• Beginner onboarding via “full sets”: Visual progression in the store (beginner → higher levels) and staff support available, though shoppers can proceed without it.

Customer experience as a sales mechanism (and risk management)

• Hands-on shopping: Customers can touch products, read specs/pricing, compare, try in a dedicated test area, then pay immediately.
• Low staff retrieval: The model minimizes staff-assisted retrieval and assumes self-directed choice.
• Risk reframing: The store experience is not treated as inherently “high risk.” Evidence cited includes:
  • Historical consistency (“kept exactly the same” in Vietnam)
  • Damage risk perceived as supported by data, not intuition
• Retail KPI tracked (conversion):
  • Conversion rate = store entrants → orders
  • However, the store is not optimized only for immediate conversion; the experience itself is viewed as valuable and expected to drive purchases over time.

Brand perception & product strategy (price vs quality reassurance)

• Common customer bias: Low prices may trigger fears of low quality, no guarantee, or possible fakes.
• Decathlon’s response:
  • Shift product development toward aesthetics as well as function (aesthetic factors previously underweighted).
  • Transform brand identity toward a more experience-led positioning.

Sustainability integration (operations + merchandising + circularity)

Three-pillars structure

Sustainability is structured around:

• Profit
• People
• Planet (environment prioritized within the plan at times)

Concrete in-store / operational practices

• Minimize plastic, including avoiding recycled plastic in some cases
• No plastic bags: customers are encouraged to bring their own
  • Reusable bags sold at cost (not for profit), intended to be reused
• Eco-friendly product metric: “Over 50% of products” eco-friendly (noted as “last month” in Vietnam)

Circular business model tactics

• Second-hand resale: returned items are recycled, repaired, cleaned, then resold
• Rental to extend lifecycle:
  • Example: a tent used ~3–4 times in year 1, <10 times in year 2, then likely discarded
  • Rentals allow many customers to experience the product using fewer new units
• European concept store reference: “Decathlon / DecLong”—emphasis on durable products, with rental + resale highlighted

Balancing sustainability with price & convenience (what makes execution hard)

Main challenges

• Communication: explaining sustainability actions effectively to customers
• Customer education in a newer market: e.g., bag policy; expect pushback like “why not include it in product price?”

How trade-offs are managed

• Emphasize cost optimization in a controlled supply chain
• End-to-end supply chain control (raw materials → design → production → logistics → retail) reduces difficulty in balancing sustainability with price.

Market education outcomes (behavior change over time)

• Customer behavior shift over ~5–6 years:
  • Early adoption of “bring-your-own-bag”
  • Later, customers stop treating bag policy as a novelty
• Sports participation progression:
  • Early buyers start with inexpensive beginner products
  • Over time, they return for more advanced/professional gear
• Resistance to short-lived trends:
  • Decathlon doesn’t chase fleeting sports trends
  • Instead, it uses real demand data to confirm viability

Segmentation & metrics discipline (buyers vs users)

• Buyer vs user distinction: e.g., a parent may buy while a child uses
• Customer lens (“cuer”): proprietary framing that captures both buyer-for-self and buyer-for-others roles
• Measurement approach / KPI discipline:
  • Primarily relies on purchasing behavior data
  • Acknowledges limitations when using market data because buyer ≠ user
• Product feedback system:
  • Feedback collected from customers and employees on quality, service, and store experience
  • Mechanisms include QR codes and email (online and in-store)

Omnichannel strategy (online + offline as complementary)

• Online strengths:
  • Quick selection
  • Fast payment
  • Large catalog
  • Finding products in a few clicks
• Offline strengths:
  • Spec-heavy items (e.g., running equipment, paddleboards) often require touch/measure/try
• Core principle:
  • Decathlon doesn’t compare online vs offline
  • Both support the same customer journey—same customer, not separate audiences

Vietnam expansion plan & store rollout targets (execution timeline)

• Geographic approach: concentrated in major cities; smaller markets served via shipping
• Logistics scale: delivery available to all 64 provinces/cities
• Store growth targets mentioned:
  • 2023: opened 3 more stores despite being “difficult”
  • Preparing to open a new store in Hanoi “next month” (as referenced relative to the video timing)
• Expansion philosophy:
  • Continue opening stores when data shows real need (pattern: no store earlier, then validated need)
  • “Two-store brands abroad (branches)” implied as a future step once validated

Competitive advantage playbook (how they stay ahead)

• Aim to maintain pioneer status rather than copying competitors.
• Key strategy:
  • Don’t hide the operating model—other brands can observe it across stores
  • Compete through customer experience and continuous iteration informed by customer data + feedback, not competitor benchmarking

Technology roadmap for CX and operations

Future in-store tech concepts

• Self-checkout / automatic payment to increase self-service
• Scan-and-go (Amazon-style): scan items, pay via phone, exit without interaction
• Customization (e.g., print names/logos for gifting)

Adoption principle

• Investments are guided by customer data / needs / feedback
• Local reality in Vietnam noted: staffing checkout can be done cheaply, so “progressive” tech may be implemented only when it’s justified by CX needs.

AI in operations (mostly background, not customer-facing yet)

• Inventory management: e.g., robots checking inventory instead of relying solely on staff
• Supply chain forecasting: review and forecast best-selling items and quantities to optimize ordering
• Future potential: use member data (registered sports interests) to personalize the in-store experience, ideally identifying the customer’s sport upon arrival to tailor recommendations

Presenter / source credits

• Presenter/Guest: Adams Nguyễn Thiên Bảo (Store Director, Decathlon Vietnam)
• Interview/Host names referenced in subtitles: “Mr. Miro” and “Miro” (host/organizer)