Challenge
Sports Direct, one of the UK's largest sports retailers with over 400 stores, recognised massive untapped potential in international e-commerce. Their English-only online platform was limiting growth in key European and global markets.
- Massive scale: Over 100,000 product descriptions, specifications and marketing materials needed translation across 20+ languages.
- Technical terminology: Sports equipment required specialised knowledge of technical terms, sizing systems and material specifications.
- Seasonal pressure: New product launches and seasonal campaigns required rapid turnaround to maintain competitive timing.
- SEO optimisation: Each market required culturally appropriate keywords and search-optimised content, not just direct translation.
- Consistency challenge: Maintaining brand voice while adapting to local preferences across diverse markets.
Solution
We deployed an AI-powered translation platform paired with sports-specialised linguists and a dynamic content framework built for scale.
10-year partnership evolution
Years 1–3 · Foundation
Established core translation infrastructure and localised the initial product catalogue across 8 primary markets.
Years 4–7 · Expansion
Scaled to 20+ languages, automated workflows and integrated with Sports Direct's CMS for real-time updates.
Years 8–10 · Optimisation
Implemented AI enhancements, market-specific A/B testing and predictive content strategies.
Workflow
AI-powered translation platform
Our proprietary TMS integrating AI translation with expert human review, processing 10,000+ product descriptions weekly at 99.8% accuracy.
Sports-specialised linguists
A team of 45+ sports industry experts fluent in technical terminology, sizing conventions and sporting culture across all target markets.
Dynamic content framework
Modular content templates enabling rapid deployment of new products with pre-translated components, reducing time-to-market by 65%.
Local SEO strategy
Keyword research per market, optimising product titles, descriptions and meta tags — resulting in top-3 rankings for 500+ keywords.
Results
Revenue transformation
Year-over-year international revenue growth; localised markets now represent 38% of total online revenue.
Conversion excellence
Average conversion rate improvement in localised markets compared to the English-only experience.
Operational efficiency
Translation accuracy maintained over the 10-year partnership across 100K+ products — zero recalls.
Market penetration
Languages deployed across European, Middle Eastern and Asian markets with top-3 local search rankings.
Business impact
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