Smashing the Cannibalization Myth: How Decathlon Proves Circular Models Drive New Customer Revenue

If your leadership team is holding back on sustainability initiatives, it is likely because of one deep-seated fear: will our second-hand options eat into our new product sales? But what if the data proves the exact opposite?

In this episode of Going Circular Pays Off, hosts Sandra Horlings and Marjolein Oyen sit down with Laurens Nolet, Circular Leader for Decathlon Netherlands, to share one of the most inspiring business stories in retail. Together, they look past the myths to show how building a sustainable business actually unlocks completely new customer revenue through circular business models.

Laurens shares the exact customer-centric strategy they used to turn the internal narrative around, dismantle the fear of cannibalization, and demonstrate that focusing on the consumer can make a circular business case a powerful commercial driver. It’s a masterclass in green entrepreneurship that delivers results both in the boardroom and on the balance sheet.

🎧 Chapters & Key Topics:

• (00:00) Introduction: Driving real sustainable business stories

• (01:13) Meet Laurens Nolet: Democratizing the circular economy

• (02:50) Transitioning to 4 circular business models: Reuse, repair, second life, and rental

• (04:40) How customer demand wins linear meters on the retail shop floor

• (05:37) Smashing the cannibalization myth: Why 90% of circular sales are incremental

• (07:22) The Aha-Moment: Shifting from a planet-focus to a customer-focus

• (09:37) The economic rationale behind Decathlon's greener business strategy

• (12:00) Opening the ecosystem: Why Decathlon repairs bikes from competitor brands

• (13:43) Supply hurdles: Overcoming lumpy supply in circular assortments

• (15:43) Replacing entry-level products with sustainable Second Life alternatives

• (17:15) Case study: "No Tent Left Behind" & festival rental partnerships

• (19:40) The Magic Formula: Tying monthly financial bonuses to circular KPIs

• (21:50) Matching different product categories to specific circular models

• (23:25) Future Outlook: Standardization, B2B growth, and C2C solutions

• (25:40) Conclusion: Creating profit to be proud of through sustainable business practices

💡 The Takeaway > "When I realized that the customer unites us and that Circular is actually not about the planet, but more about the customer... we turned around the story. Through those customers, we can save the planet in a way that we can change shopping behavior and reduce our footprint." — Laurens Nolet

Stop letting assumptions dictate your business model. Tune in to arm yourself with the data and arguments needed to shift your company from volume to value. Listen to these ecofriendly business stories now on your favorite podcast platform!

👉 Ready to bring a customer-first circular strategy to your business? Share this episode with your network and visit innoboost.com for practical tools to make circularity work for you.

Show notes

• Discover more about how ⁠Decathlon⁠ keeps customers close with circular business models.

• Follow ⁠Laurens Nolet⁠ on his journey going circular.

• Visit⁠ Innoboost.com⁠ for more insights, research and tools on going circular. Drop us a note if you want to share your story via ⁠sandra.horlings@innoboost.com⁠

  
  

CreditsThis is a podcast by Innoboost | Creating Profit to be proud of

• Hosts: Sandra Horlings & Marjolein Oyen

  
  

• Production & Edit: Malou van der Starre

  
  

• Sound: Joris van Grunsven, Studio Takt