Putian, China
Industrial partnership
faces Covid-19
Thanks to a 20 years collaboration between Decathlon and a Chinese industry, Decathlon has been able to create masks in a shoe factory while saving lives and jobs
Decathlon is linked for 20 years to the company SEMS, a collaboration that means creation, industrialization, and shoemaking in China, in Fujian province. When the Covid-19 outbreak occurred, Decathlon had to think fast and react quickly to protect people. How to get from a shoemaking production to masks production. Volumes had to be adapted as well as production time limits and payment terms to help with SEMS compatibility. Sanitary measures have been adapted within production technics to create, industrialized, and manufacture the protective masks. Decathlon has provided SEMS with protective equipment (masks and protective glasses), Decathlon had that equipment available when the sanitary crisis was hitting China and not Europe. In return, SEMS has offered, early in the European crisis, 200 000 masks to Decathlon France teams. A very protective partnership.
With common sense and vision, this historical collaboration based on transparency has been very useful during the Covid-19 outbreak, the sanitary crisis has become a financial crisis.
The level of transparency was very high between Decathlon teams and SEMS: the sale and stock information have been shared every day as well as financial consequences. Then, every team player has been able to react with efficiency saving thousands of jobs at SEMS, and saving also Decathlon business. This high level of transparency shows the great level of collaboration of the 2 partners. For the common interest.
July 2020
Grenoble
Joseph, passionate
for mountain bike
and Zwift as a coachCuenca
Johana, great walking athlete
and great mum with maximum strength
thanks to her daughters and husband