Successful story of:

Plutosport

Facts and figures

2005 Founded in
H2 Equity Partners Part of
Online sportshop Biggest in NL

Question.

Plutosport

Plutosport.nl is the biggest online sporting goods store in the Netherlands. Plutosport sells an extensive range of sports and lifestyle products, varying from clothes to shoes to other accessories. This is done using its own online webshop in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and France as well as using several different marketplaces in the whole of Europe. What characterises Plutosport is that all the in-stock articles can be delivered, thus guaranteeing a high level of service (including same day delivery and if articles are ordered before 22.00, delivery the next day).

The company was founded in 2005 and has been active as a retailer that only operates online since 2010. Since then, Plutosport has grown into one of the biggest sports and apparel platforms in the Netherlands.

Recently, Plutosport has become part of the portfolio of H2 Equity Partners and in conjunction with them, they are working to realise further growth levels.

In the past couple of years, the company has had high levels of autonomous growth and sees lasting possibilities for further growth. This growth was made a reality by a combination of 1) Autonomous growth in the online sales section of the sports & apparel market, 2) A strong European purchasing policy that has a wide range of sports and lifestyle products which anticipate customer needs and trends; and 3) An efficient marketing model supported by a high level of service.

The goal is to double the revenue within two to three years. To make this happen, a focus is being placed on expansion using internationalisation, expanding categories, improving customer loyalty and further developing private label articles and teamwear for sports clubs and companies.

The new CEO will make said growth a reality, in conjunction with his team.

Solution.

The goal of the CEO is to define the whole vision and strategy, rooted in further growth, and to ensure there is a clear execution that is carried out by the entire organisation. The CEO has an important part to play in this strategy and in Plutosport’s growth, mainly using e-commerce expertise.

In this, the plan for how to run the commercial platform is very important. The company is currently at a tipping point towards the (post) scale-up phase in which a number of things can be improved in order to make the ambitions of growth a reality. Further professionalisation of the organisation and creating a good sales machine are key to this. Creating a winning team and (further) building a new brand and a new uniform proposition form the foundation for this. Making the ambitious revenue goals a reality whilst maintaining profitability is the CEO’s most important task.

Hidde van der Louw recently started as CEO. Hidde is an energetic, results-driven, curious and entrepreneurial executive with a strong (commercial) drive. He enjoys making and doing business. He has in-depth knowledge on international e-commerce environments, marketplaces and platforms. He also has a lot of experience in the field of category management. He builds very successful teams and in conjunction with them really wants to be able to make a difference.

Hidde has a unique mix of creative, data-driven marketing experience combined with excellent analytical and financial skills. He is good at making a strategy, goals and KPIs and subsequently reaching and executing these. He is good at getting people on board with this. Hidde is always looking for potential for growth and is no-nonsense and direct.

Leadership

Upscaler

The leadership most suited for success in this phase is characterized by:

From operational to coaching leadership (you can no longer do everything yourself)
Focus on people – attract, develop and retain the right team of people
Creating scalability through structure and processes, without being entrepreneurial, lose – create resilience
Clarity (communication I expectations) and personal growth (working with A-players).
Continue to refresh and start improving

Look at our leadership model