DECATHLON & THIGA

From Physical Product to Augmented Experience

©Photo de Alessio Soggetti sur Unsplash

Context

Decathlon set itself an ambitious challenge: creating the digital passport for bikes. The starting point was a unique identifier embedded directly in the bike, ensuring traceability and protecting against theft. But the ambition went much further: leveraging this technology to build an ecosystem of services around the bike, moving beyond the traditional retail model.

We were involved from the very beginning: exploring opportunities linked to digital identification, and later scaling the product passport internationally. The goal was to extend the lifecycle of bikes (repairs, spare parts, insurance), maintain a simple and continuous relationship with customers after purchase, and unlock new sources of revenue for the brand.

Challenges

  • Designing a product at the crossroads of multiple disciplines: physical product design, logistics, traceability, and digital services.
  • Synchronizing the very different development cycles of digital and physical products.
  • Building a sustainable business model for a product offered free of charge.
  • Managing complex, multinational content that required local adaptation.
  • Harmonizing service offerings across countries to ensure a consistent customer experience.

Our approach

  • Square - Red 26

    Exploring opportunities

    We conducted extensive exploration work in close collaboration with local teams: interviews, market research, and analysis of existing initiatives across countries. This allowed us to map the scope of possibilities and clarify the potential of the digital passport.

  • Square - Red 28

    Structuring and launching the team

    We set up a dedicated team, defining its budget, organization, and connections with Decathlon’s broader ecosystem.

  • Red 08

    Projecting revenue potential

    Through structured hypotheses, we assessed the value creation potential of the passport—repairs, insurance, spare parts—to demonstrate business relevance and guide priorities.

  • Square - Red 14

    Product governance and delivery

    We defined the roadmap, ensured alignment between physical product and digital services teams, and steered the product’s delivery with rigor.

  • Red 26

    Coaching and evangelizing

    Beyond delivery, we helped the teams evolve their product practices to set the project up for lasting success.

Our impact

  • Over 700,000 bikes equipped with a digital passport sold since launch.
  • Deployment across 32 countries already achieved.
  • A pioneering initiative within Decathlon, paving the way for extending the product passport to other categories and markets.
  • A dedicated passport team created and structured (now six people), working coherently despite belonging to different parts of Decathlon’s organization.
I was impressed by Thiga’s ability to combine two seemingly contradictory strengths: driving strategic, long-term objectives while keeping the pragmatism needed to deliver concrete results in the short term. This balance was critical to convincing internal stakeholders and making such a complex project a reality.
Clarification
Loïc Lammertyn Leader Bike Identification

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