Sports retail giant Decathlon partners with Zeus Labs to handle UK freight

The UK-based logtech start-up is on track to achieve its targeted 400 per cent growth and welcomes Decathlon, the major sports retailer with 70 locations across Britain

Zeus Labs, which is disrupting the freight industry with its next-generation digital solutions, has teamed up with the world’s largest sports retailer Decathlon to help handle its UK freight. The partnership means that Zeus now handles nearly half of all the retailer’s restocking in the UK.

Established in Lille, France in 1976, Decathlon opened its first UK store at Surrey Quays in 1999, and now has 70 sites across the UK with plans to open hundreds more over the next decade.

The partnership comes after Zeus has undergone phenomenal growth since its founding in 2019 by young entrepreneurs Jai Kanwar and Clemente Theotokis. The firm now serves more than 40 enterprise-level clients handling over 660,000 tonnes of cargo annually, worth circa £6 billion.

Zeus has also experienced a 100 per cent conversion rate from manufacturers who trialled their platform in 2021, which offers a near ‘zero-touch’ approach to managing road freight, with complete end-to-end tracking, reconciliation and system integrations.

The platform reduces road freight administration for both shippers and hauliers, while helping small-medium fleets grow quickly with fast payment terms.

It also features a generous loyalty program that includes 50 per cent discounts on premium truck tyres – which amounts to a potential saving of more than several thousand pounds a year to small fleets.

Zeus, which aims to reduce the industry average of 30 per cent of trucks running empty to just five per cent by 2025, achieved a 326 per cent growth in total volume in 2021, and is on track to deliver a 400 per cent growth in revenues by the end of 2022.

Zeus Labs Co-Founder Jai Kanwar said: “The addition of major brands like Decathlon is a testament to the great benefits we are bringing to the logistics sector. Our easy-to-use platform is not only helping companies streamline their supply chain but also help move the industry towards better sustainability by reducing the number of empty HGVs on UK roads. Every manufacturer that trialled Zeus in 2021 has awarded business to us this year, showing just how effective our service is in modernising road freight management.”