Decathlon has changed its name to 'Nohltaced' in three Belgian cities; Here's why
Sporting company is promoting a new initiative in which customers can resell old or unused sporting goods back to the store, and the company will then repair the item and resell them in some form under warranty.
FollowLeading sports equipment shop Decathlon recently shocked everyone by changing its name to "Nolhtaced" for a month in Belgium. If you're attempting to figure out what this name means, stop! It's just the company name written backwards. On the website's logo, social media accounts, and above the doors of three of Decathlon's Belgian locations—Namur, Ghent, and Evere—the word "Nohltaced" is now present.
A creative marketing move has aimed to inculclate among customers an awareness about wastage and pollution and encourage people to indulge in ‘reverse shopping’.
"The objective is to reuse as much equipment as possible to decrease the impact on our environment and avoid waste," Decathlon Belgium stated in a news statement. It further said, "The second-hand product selection offered by Decathlon will also enable less fortunate customers to purchase high-quality sporting goods at a discount."
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Sporting goods, including those not initially acquired from the shop, are accepted by Decathlon in return for vouchers having a two-year expiration date (excluding safety items, hygiene products, food, medical products, and individualised items). According to the shop, 26,000 goods worth a total of €593,220 in vouchers have already been gathered in Belgium during the test period.
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"At first sight, this name change could appear like a simple marketing push, but our objective is primarily to make our buy-back service known to as many people as possible," said Arnaud de Coster, head of second-hand items at Nolhtaced Belgium. Joeri Moons agreed and added that utilising is more important than having. This also implies that we must build our products to be as durable as possible, he concluded.
