Opening of the Starboard Sailing Lab in La Rochelle
If the employees of the Tribord brand of Décathlon have already started to invest the premises since the beginning of 2021, the Sailing Lab of the French chain in La Rochelle has taken a new step on July 02, 2021 by welcoming its first sailors. Opening up to customers is one of the essential elements of the project's approach, explains Guénolé Havard, head of the Decathlon sailing brand: " The official inauguration will take place on September 30th, at the same time as the Grand Pavois, but since July 2nd, we have been welcoming our first users. The objective of this site is co-design. Throughout the summer, we will be organizing tours of the site, to showcase our businesses. Everyone will be able to access it, provided they are a Decathlon customer and provide some information. "
Co-designing boaters' equipment
To imagine its new site, the Tribord teams relied on 3 main pillars: inspiration, co-creation, and ease of exchange. " For inspiration, we chose to host Code0, because we are not futurists. They will be in charge of creating content for us and organizing conferences. That's where the ideas will come from. As for co-creation or co-design, it can be implemented in many ways: in the form of questions and answers from the community, as is done online on the Decathlon global site; or in a more precise way, by going as far as prototyping in-house or with partners. Our priorities remain waterproofing and safety. Finally, we have designed convivial spaces to facilitate exchanges with boaters "summarizes Guénolé Havard.
A tailor-made tool within the nautical ecosystem of La Rochelle
Previously based in Hendaye, the Decathlon sailing brand has chosen to move closer to the nautical breeding ground of La Rochelle. " Being in the heart of the Rochelais ecosystem, with the number of boats on site, the builders... It is easier to interact. We also have test areas such as the "shower cabin", large enough to accommodate a mini 6.50 and carry out tests with a good test protocol, reproducing the spray and rain. The buoyancy tank allows us to do the pre-tests of the life jackets internally before certification, which saves time. The digital architecture of the site is also thought to be able to question the boaters everywhere, even directly in the changing room! "says the Starboard manager.
The Decathlon brand already works with the FFVoile, the SNSM and the École de Voile Rochelaise, which is often present on the premises. Collaborations with other nautical professionals could increase. " We do not prohibit ourselves from hosting other professionals. We will see. We structure ourselves as we go along, with the new projects "concludes Guénolé Havard.
