Business Developer

International. Team players. All religions. Stronger together through our love of sports.

At Decathlon UK, we are driven by our mission to help more people in the UK get physically active and healthy. We are a part of the DECATHLON Group, one of the world’s leading sporting goods retailers. Headquartered in France, DECATHLON specializes in the creation of sports products and their distribution online and in stores at more than 1,700 locations in 61 countries. In the UK, it has over 50 stores nationwide and an e-commerce site that caters to nationwide delivery.

DECATHLON represents more than 85,000 teammates with a turnover exceeding 15€ billion. Our ambition for the future is to push the boundaries of sports retailing into services and experiences, to empower, inspire and connect people to live healthy and active lifestyles.

DECATHLON MARKETPLACE

Our marketplace launched in 2021 with the objective of creating a one-stop shop for sport and is one of the fastest growing areas of Decathlon. As an international retailer, we are uniquely positioned to be the largest sports marketplace in the world and we aim to generate €1bn in our first 5 years.

Having launched in over 13 countries including the UK, France, Germany, Hong Kong and India, we are looking to scale our marketplace platform at pace.

JOB DESCRIPTION

You will be responsible for recruiting high-quality sellers to ensure our marketplace provides the best range of sporting goods brands on the market. You will be targeting brands, distributors and resellers across a range of sports to ensure objectives are met.

Along with the pre-defined wish list, you will be responsible for finding new opportunities that serve our long-term strategic objectives for people, the planet and profits. You will work closely with commercial teams to ensure alignment with company objectives.

You will be a key player in facilitating the marketplace transition/mindset internally. You will work closely with different business functions to facilitate this change management with transparency, good communication and energy.

As we are a global marketplace, you will work closely with your international colleagues to help develop the marketplace strategy globally.

YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES

• Generate new leads, identify and contact decision-makers, screen potential business opportunities and lead pitch logistics.
• Recruit new partners to the Decathlon Marketplace at speed.
• Develop and implement overarching outbound sales and business development strategy, sales processes, structure and best practices.
• Report to stakeholders on the key performance indicators of the marketplace.
• Work closely with the local and international commercial teams to develop and execute marketplace strategy.
• Promote and develop our EU marketplace and other services like fulfilment, in-store displays and other forms of marketing.
• Support the internal transition to a marketplace with strong communication and frequent updates.
• Stay up to date on industry trends and identify opportunities for growth.
• Attend relevant trade and networking events in the UK and possibly the EU.
• Ensure good quality data entry to CRM.
• Work closely with the EU Business Development team, contributing to the development of the international marketplace.
• Build partnerships with 3rd party SaaS providers to grow and improve the marketplace (feed managers, aggregators, pricing tools etc).

WHO ARE YOU?

• A sports enthusiast!
• Experienced working with marketplaces and interacting with merchants is preferred.
• Excellent sales, communication and negotiation skills (written and oral) with external partners, able to manage on various management levels.
• Startup and hands-on mentality, fast and agile with confidence working autonomously.
• Strong cross-functional experience and proven ability to work collaboratively and through others.
• Ideally 2 years of experience in business development roles, however, motivation is more important.
• Strong analytical skills.
• Experience within the sporting goods industry is a plus.

Other notes:

Travel: Travel to trade and networking events throughout the year.

Where: Head Office, London (3 days in the office)

Working at Decathlon

If you are a person with an active and dynamic personality, then a Decathlon Career is definitely for you. Our unique culture empowered by our values of vitality, responsibility, generosity, and authenticity, and bonded by our love for sports, will definitely give you an experience of a lifetime.

Get to enjoy the following benefits and perks when working at Decathlon UK:

Rewards and Recognition

• Annual remuneration reviews
• 30% Teammate Discount
• Shareholding Scheme
• Access to Pension Scheme ( 3-8% Employer Contribution to Pension Scheme)
• Teammate rental scheme
• Cycle-to-Work Scheme

Social and Community

• Ticket discount for social and community events such as concerts, theatre, sports events, etc (through SmartSpending Access and so it varies per season)
• Access and opportunity to join internal and community social events every year for you and your family

Health and Wellbeing

• Up to 10 paid sick leaves and 5 bereavement leaves
• Maternity and shared parental leaves

Life Assurance

• Work-life Balance
• Up to 28 days holiday with the option to carry over a maximum of 5 days each year
• Airfare and accommodation discounts for trips (through SmartSpending Access and so it varies per season)

Learning and Development

• A vast program of intensive learning and development training via Decathlon Academy and other learning platforms
• Opportunity to join apprenticeship programmes

HQ Benefits

• Hybrid working mode
• No uniform
• Free hot drinks
• Free access to Decathlon Gym