Decathlon CH boosts multichannel presence & scaled sales +120% volume

For large retailers, the gap between their internal Product Information Management (PIM) system and the complex requirements of major marketplaces can often feel impossible to bridge.

When Decathlon Switzerland faced this exact hurdle with over 55,000 SKUs, they realized that manual solutions were no longer a viable path to growth. By partnering with the agency Merkado and leveraging Channable as their dynamic data hub, they transformed their marketplace strategy, achieving a 120% surge in sales volume in just one quarter.

This use case explores how Decathlon utilized marketplace automation to rapidly scale their catalog while bypassing the typical bottlenecks of manual error management.

Key takeaways

• Rapid scaling: Decathlon successfully scaled active listings by 258%, turning previously unsold inventory into active revenue.

• AI-powered efficiency: By using Channable as a translation hub for AI-optimized data, they eliminated manual data entry for 55,000+ SKUs.

• Revenue growth: This technical shift drove a 121% YoY sales increase on major Swiss platforms.

Data incompatibility

Decathlon Switzerland’s internal PIM was robust, but it was not designed for the highly specific taxonomy and attribute requirements demanded by Swiss marketplaces like Galaxus. This created a fundamental disconnect, leading to several listing issues:

• Low listing approval rates: Large portions of the catalog were consistently rejected due to formatting errors and missing mandatory attributes.

• The invisible catalog: Over 30,000 SKUs remained unlisted, tying up capital in inventory that could not be found by consumers.

• Operational friction: The team lacked the tools to perform complex data transformations at scale, resulting in missing information for their ads.

Before implementing a centralized automation layer, Decathlon was operating at less than 50% of its sales capacity, effectively leaving significant potential turnover on the table.

Channable as a dynamic data hub

The breakthrough occurred when Merkado moved away from viewing Channable as a simple "pass-through" tool and instead utilized it as a centralized command center. Implementing this robust Decathlon Channable strategy allowed them to solve the complexity of 55,000+ SKUs by developing a sophisticated "Pre-processing and Enrichment cycle" with the rules engine:

1. Granular data slicing (Pre-processing)

Instead of sending raw, messy data to AI, the team used Channable’s Rule Engine to perform high-level data optimization. Custom rules were created to slice specific attributes from dense, unstructured fields, priming the dataset for high-quality processing.

2. The AI-feedback loop

The cleaned, structured segments were then exported to a proprietary Large Language Model (LLM) to generate optimized product titles and descriptions that met specific marketplace taxonomies. These AI-enhanced translations were then bulk-reimported back into Channable.

3. Final deployment & QA

Channable served as the final filter, applying granular rules to ensure this optimized data met the unique requirements of platforms like Galaxus. The Preview Step acted as a critical safety net, allowing the team to validate formatted attributes before they hit the marketplace API, drastically reducing rejection rates.

Exponential growth without extra headcount

By automating content transformation and moving from product-by-product adjustments to bulk-based workflows, the team achieved unprecedented results:

Metric	Previous state	2025 performance	Impact
Active listings	6,098	21,833	+258% Visibility
Sales volume	Baseline	+110.37% YoY	Consistent 2x Scaling
Scalability*	Manual	55,000+ SKUs	Fully automated

"The primary differentiator is the sheer versatility and creative freedom offered by the Rule Engine," notes the Merkado team. This agility allowed them to double their active presence on major platforms within a single year without increasing internal headcount.

From manual to strategic

By centralizing operations through Channable, Decathlon Switzerland evolved from manual, reactive workflows to a proactive engine for growth.

Their experience proves that treating your integration platform as an "Optimization Engine" can unlock massive potential and drive exponential sales.

If you are ready to move beyond the limitations of manual product management, the path begins with optimizing your data structure. Explore Channable’s Marketplace Integrator today to see how you can transform your catalog into a high-performance marketplace machine.