Recommerce, the French pioneer of refurbished smartphones, is celebrating its 15th anniversary. A look back at the trajectory of this key player in the circular economy, which continues to grow and innovate in a world where the preservation of resources is becoming more crucial than ever.
From association to company
The Recommerce teams can pride themselves on having come a long way. Initially launched as an association called MonExtel, the group began its history by collecting unused mobile phones from customers for resale in non-subsidized countries. The proceeds from the transactions are then donated to associations. Because at the end of the 2000s, the market reality was quite different: the value of this type of product was almost zero, with consumers primarily subscribing to a package.
It is the intervention of a major player in the sector, Bouygues Telecom, which takes Recommerce to another dimension. The operator is addressing the start-up with the aim of reducing waste, giving rise to a product return program led by the two partners. The arrival of Free on the market changes the situation. “ The terminals had real perceived value since the subsidy model is broken. And that’s when the recovery business model explodes, and Recommerce transforms into a company », explains Augustin Becquet, its general director, in an interview given to Lemon squeezer.
The journey of a refurbished smartphone
Today, the platform is the takeover partner of several operators or large distributors, like Boulanger. Its service is based on two main channels: in-store returns, which represent 90% of transactions, and digital journeys. In store, customers benefit from secure and immediate data transfer, with an instant assessment of the trade-in value, making it easier to purchase a new product by paying only the net difference.
For web transactions, an approval process is put in place. This involves rigorous verification of initial diagnostics provided by the customer, either through simple questions or through a testing application. Once the product is received, it undergoes a complete process in the workshops: data erasure, tests on more than 60 checkpoints, cleaning and, if necessary, repairs (battery, screen, cosmetics). The repaired products then enter a resale stock accompanied by standardized accessories.
Those that are beyond repair are sent for recycling. “ On a product like a smartphone, today, we can unfortunately only recover 15% of the materials », Regrets the manager.
A dedicated label
Although reconditioned products are gaining ground in France, some people are still hesitant to turn to this process. This is due, in particular, to fears about the viability of the product, as well as a lack of confidence in the seller or the origin of the device.
In order to reassure consumers, Recommerce has worked on the RecQ label. “ We cannot promise the customer that he will never encounter a problem with his product. However, we inform you that rigorous tests have been carried out and that in the event of a problem, a two-year guarantee is in place. In addition, a team is available to respond to any after-sales service issues, and the data has been treated with the utmost seriousness. », summarizes Augustin Becquet.
French leader
This is a paid plan. Recommerce has established itself today as the leader in product recovery, reconditioning and resale. The company has given a second life to more than 6 million smartphones, and returned more than 370 million euros to consumers. In 2024, it will show growth of 15%, achieving a turnover of 175 million euros. Better yet, the group is now established in twelve European countries, and is recording average growth of 20% per year.
In this context, it is increasing new solutions aimed at promoting the circular economy. Launched in 2021, the CircularX SaaS platform allows companies to manage the entire second life of their products themselves, without necessarily going through a third party. “ We define ourselves as a facilitator of the circular economy, either by operating for partners, or by giving the means and tools to our partners to achieve circularity on their own. », specifies the director.
Likewise, the company recently introduced Recommerce Copilot, a web application leveraging artificial intelligence to accelerate in-store diagnostics. The objective is “ to be the most efficient when the customer wants to change their phone “.
The circular economy destined to grow
Beyond its iron health, Recommerce now aims to become “ one of the leading players in Europe », notably by diversifying the type of products supported. The platform already manages laptops as well as consoles, and this catalog is set to grow.
Its growth prospects are favorable. “ Commodity prices will only increase, because everything that is rare is expensive », analyzes Augustin Becquet. “ We believe that the circular economy has a bright future ahead of it since production costs for new devices will unfortunately increase. », he continues.
For the manager, information work with individuals is also essential. Because the environmental impact of electronics is monumental: the production of a single 5.5-inch smartphone requires 170 kilos of material.
