Real Estate Business Developer (M/F)

This is a high-impact, strategic role focused on defining and implementing the business development strategy for Decathlon across the Adria region. Your ultimate mission is clear: drive Decathlon to become the undisputed market leader by 2030. Operating within a combined regional sports market sized at nearly €1.68 Billion (Croatia: €574M, Slovenia: €549M, Serbia: €555M) where our current market share sits at ~13%, you will architect our aggressive expansion. You will spearhead our ambitious goals for 2027—including a +16.5% GMV growth and the strategic opening of 4 new stores. Looking ahead to 2030, your mandate is to scale our regional presence from our current 25 touchpoints (22 physical stores + 3 websites in 2026) to 40 fully integrated omni-channel touchpoints, creating a positive human, environmental, and economic impact in alignment with Decathlon's core values.

Develop Local Strategy

• Define regional development strategy based on market data to grow Decathlon's market share from ~13% to leadership in the €1.68B sports market by 2030.

• Design and implement a multi-channel network (lockers, shops, digital) to scale the local ecosystem from 25 to 40 fully integrated touchpoints by 2030.

Develop and Execute Projects

• Drive real estate projects to deliver 4 new store openings by 2027: source sites, evaluate execution means, manage technical/financial details, negotiate contracts, handle due diligence/permits, monitor budgets, and oversee handover.

• Coordinate all stakeholders throughout business development projects.

• Manage store relocations for non-vision sites: source alternatives and conduct cost-benefit/upside analyses against current locations.

• Build and maintain local administrative and political relationships.

• Advise internal stakeholders and support execution/negotiation of physical partnerships and new business initiatives.

• Advocate for Decathlon on sports topics by engaging external government organizations and building a local network.

• Prospect and negotiate with property investors to enable new businesses and shops.

Real Estate Portfolio Management

• Monitor year-one revenues and costs against budget for new openings to support the +16.5% GMV growth target.

• Identify and execute portfolio optimization opportunities across 22 existing stores, including downsizing, enlargements, efficiency upgrades, and green building investments.

• Execute land commercialization strategies following Asset Manager guidelines, including land sales and leasing vacant premises.

About yourself

• Cross-cultural fluency, comfortable in a workplace that blends the local identities of the Adria region (Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia) with Decathlon's international culture.

• Entrepreneurial and strategic mindset, capable of translating macro market data into a concrete vision to capture a larger market share and achieve undisputed regional leadership.

• Thrives in highly ambitious, transformative environments; adept at architecting aggressive expansion plans to aggressively scale our regional omni-channel ecosystem.

• A financial or technical background, or prior experience as a Regional Retail Leader, is highly advantageous.

• Previous experience in Real Estate Development, Retail Expansion, or Commercial Business Development is highly desired, along with a track record of managing end-to-end site acquisitions and store openings.

• Strong negotiation and networking skills, with demonstrated experience engaging property investors, landlords, local governmental organizations, and administrative bodies.

• Exceptional project management abilities; capable of coordinating cross-functional stakeholders, navigating technical and legal due diligence, and managing investments.

• Business partner approach with a strong capacity to proactively advise internal stakeholders, drive local partnerships, and ensure a positive human, environmental, and economic impact.

• Highly mobile and comfortable with frequent travel across the region, paired with a strong appetite for continuous professional development.

• Agile under pressure, calm in vision, concrete in action, authentic with people.

• Fluent in English; fluency or high proficiency in Croatian, Slovenian, and/or Serbian is highly advantageous to operate effectively across the region.

• Knowledge and/or capacity to understand all functional domains within Decathlon, ensuring real estate and network decisions directly support overarching GMV growth and P&L objectives.