DECATHLON · 2024
Leading a multi-market homepage redesign
Aligning teams and countries around one homepage vision—without delaying France’s platform migration.
TL;DR
Role
Senior Product Design Manager, Upper Funnel
OVERVIEW
Two months before France moved onto Decathlon’s new global platform, the homepage had become a launch blocker. The rebranded experience looked strong, but it did not support the commercial needs of Decathlon’s largest markets—and countries felt they had lost the flexibility they relied on. I set the direction and launch scope, then gave a Senior Product Designer, UX Researcher and Content Designer ownership of the work. We brought Product, Engineering, Data, SEO and country teams into a one-week sprint, with clear success measures and a shared deadline.
IMPACT
Delivered on time, protecting the France migration. The redesigned top component increased click-through by 40%, while the work also opened the door to a more modular and personalised homepage.
THE BACKGROUND
A global experience that did not work locally
Decathlon was moving its countries onto a new global ecommerce platform following a major rebrand. The new homepage was visually ambitious, but it had been designed without enough consideration for how countries actually traded: frequent promotions, several commercial messages and different local priorities. With France due to migrate in two months, the homepage became a blocker. Delaying the launch would have affected the wider transformation plan, but shipping the existing experience would have left the largest market with fewer tools and less control than before.
OBJECTIVE
Create one homepage direction that countries could stand behind—and keep the migration on track.
WHAT I DID
Set the frame, then let the team run
I aligned Product, Engineering and country stakeholders on the launch-critical problems, the scope we could realistically solve in two months and the measures that would tell us whether the redesign worked. I then gave the team ownership of the sprint, checking in at the start, midpoint and close to unblock decisions without taking the work back from them. Decision 01 — Start with evidence: We combined usage data with research across five priority markets. The evidence showed clear problems on both mobile and desktop, while exposure dropped by around 90% as users moved down the page. Decision 02 — Design for customers and content teams: The experience needed to work for shoppers, but also for the country teams building campaigns in the CMS. Decision 03 — Protect the date by reducing the scope: We focused the first release on the homepage components needed for migration and staggered the rest.
THE OUTCOME
A clearer homepage, delivered in time for launch
The new design replaced the single, restrictive hero with a more flexible component that could carry several commercial messages without overwhelming the customer. It improved the hierarchy of the page, gave each component a clearer purpose and created a stronger base for personalisation. Just as importantly, the project changed how Design worked with countries. After the launch, designers joined the country feedback sessions directly for larger initiatives instead of receiving second-hand requirements through intermediaries.
EXAMPLE
From one message to a flexible commercial component
On mobile, the previous hero allowed one message, one image and one call to action. The redesigned component let countries show more than one priority while keeping the first screen focused and usable.
IMPACT
Impact
PRODUCT
France migrated as planned
organisation
Click-through on the top component
team
Foundation for a modular, personalised homepage
“When I joined, what I worked on came from my PM’s mind—now it comes from qual and quant data from the Customer Journey Map.”
Upper Funnel Product Designer
Reflections
INVOLVE COUNTRIES EARLIER
I would create direct, structured feedback loops with country teams from the start. The project worked, but part of the tension came from Design receiving their needs too late and through too many layers.
STAY CLOSE WITHOUT TAKING OVER
The deadline required clear decisions and frequent support, but not more control. My role was to keep the work focused, remove blockers and give the team the space to own the solution.