‘It must be a proper to repair your cellphone’: the boss of booming secondhand tech agency Again Market

Thibaud Hug de Larauze is waving his iPhone, boasting that it’s greater than seven years previous. “It really works nice,” he says. Not what you’d count on from a tech entrepreneur heading considered one of France’s greatest “unicorn” startups – Again Market – which has raised greater than $1bn to broaden into 18 nations.

The chief government of the secondhand gadget market says he would reasonably establish as an eco-warrior than a tech guru, combating to steer us all to purchase pre-owned telephones, laptops and different gadgets, and restore or recycle our previous ones.

New know-how contributes greater than 1bn tonnes of greenhouse fuel emissions a yr, just below 3% of the worldwide whole, making it the seventh greatest contributor – about half the dimensions of the style business – in keeping with Our World in Information.

Mending a smartphone simply as soon as can save greater than 77kg of carbon emissions, analysis by the French ecological transition company Ademe has discovered, serving to to lighten our affect on the planet, clear up a big digital waste downside that equates to greater than 60m tonnes a yr globally, and cut back the necessity to mine scarce sources, together with gold, platinum and palladium.

“It’s an enormous driver to get up and on the finish of the day … know that I’m making an attempt to realize one thing that’s constructive,” Hug de Larauze says. He says that what he likes in regards to the firm is that it doesn’t compromise values for worth. “The extra we develop the enterprise, one of the best it’s when it comes to affect.”

The group, which has headquarters in Paris and Bordeaux and employs 700 folks globally, expects to ship its first annual underlying revenue this yr, shortly after its tenth anniversary in November. Gross sales proceed to surge, on the again of 45% development final yr to €320m (£270m), which makes the corporate a couple of quarter of the dimensions of UK on-line electrical items retailer AO.

The UK, the place Again Market opened for enterprise 4 years in the past, is now its quickest rising nation – with gross sales up 80% yr on yr. The group holds 44% of Britain’s on-line refurbished tech market, rising to greater than half for smartphones. Hug de Larauze says curiosity has surged within the UK as a result of persons are “combating inflation and so on the lookout for choices to mainly lower your expenses on tech”, but in addition as a result of they’re “very sustainability-oriented”. “E-waste is an enormous subject; it’s one thing that issues to folks.”

Again Market – now an authorized B Corp, which ensures sure moral requirements – was based in 2014 by Hug de Larauze and two associates, Quentin Le Brouster and Vianney Vaute. He says the launch was impressed by working with refurbishment specialists who had been promoting their wares on the likes of eBay.

Hug de Larauze felt refurbished merchandise wanted a better profile and smoother gross sales expertise to offer consumers extra confidence. They could be cheaper and greener, however refurbished objects are up in opposition to expensively marketed family manufacturers and “there was an enormous belief hole between these two worlds that wanted to be stuffed”.

Having began promoting smartphones solely in France, Again Market now sells 200 several types of refurbished gadget – from smartphones and laptops to child screens and gaming consoles – in 18 nations. These embrace the US and far of Europe in addition to Japan, South Korea and Australia, with 4.5 million new prospects final yr taking the full to greater than 13 million since launch.

Again Market doesn’t purchase or maintain inventory, or perform refurbishment itself. It really works with 1,700 merchants and refurbishers who’re rigorously screened earlier than they’re allowed to listing. Sellers get their merchandise from a mixture of sources, together with telecoms corporations that provide trade-ins and upgrades to shoppers.

Final yr, after a number of rounds of funding, with cash to gas development pumped in by the likes of Goldman Sachs and the Airbnb and Spotify investor Aglaé Ventures, Again Market determined to shift focus to creating a revenue. It’s now funding itself, after rate of interest rises and a weak IPO market meant sources of recent money grew to become much less promising.

Whereas a flotation just isn’t fully dominated out, Hug de Larauze says new money just isn’t wanted to proceed enlargement. He’s assured the group is on a trajectory to e-book a revenue in December. It has pulled again on hiring and has paused coming into new territories or product classes to take advantage of its established place.

Again Market’s development comes not solely from its current markets, but in addition from new companies similar to trade-in on sure merchandise within the UK, France, US and different markets, and recycling, which is being examined in France. Hug de Larauze says he desires to supply the general public a technique of eliminating undesirable tech in a straightforward, and probably worthwhile, means reasonably than letting devices construct up in a drawer. Shopping for again or providing to recycle objects additionally supplies a gradual stream of merchandise for Again Market’s military of refurbishers.

With households within the UK every now hoarding an estimated 30 damaged tech objects – up from 20 4 years in the past, in keeping with Materials Focus – there’s clearly numerous scope for such companies. Additional change is being pushed by “right to repair” legislation, which is able to come into legislation throughout the EU member states by 2026, forcing producers to make spare components and technical data out there for telephones and pill computer systems in addition to kitchen home equipment.

Within the UK, the place we eliminate 2m tonnes of digital waste yearly, right to repair legislation was introduced in 2021. Nevertheless, it solely covers a handful of things together with giant kitchen home equipment and TVs.

Hug de Larauze desires laws to go additional: “For those who actually wish to transition folks to circularity and/or restore, making gadgets last more, you might want to contain every thing. It takes a village and it takes, particularly, producers. It may embrace designing the merchandise [with repair or longevity in mind], beginning to promote the spare components, or enabling folks to repair stuff extra simply.”

Additional laws, underneath which electronics producers and retailers are being requested to pay extra in direction of the gathering and recycling of the objects they promote, can also be welcomed. Nevertheless, the Again Market boss says the UK’s system wants tweaking in order that restore is taken into account as the primary possibility earlier than recycling.

“Folks would love to have the ability to buy these merchandise,” he says. “It must be a proper for everybody to have the ability to repair the product that they’ve and to make use of it longer.”

CV

Age 36
Household Married with three daughters.
Training French highschool in Canada, then the college of administration on the IÉSEG grande école in France. He travelled between France, Toronto, Mexico, Spain, and India throughout his research earlier than taking a break to rebuild faculties in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake.
Pay Not disclosed.
Final vacation In Brittany, within the Gulf of Morbihan close to Vannes.
Greatest remorse “I’ve no regrets. Besides possibly for the truth that I didn’t turn into a professional tennis participant.”
Finest recommendation he’s been given “You have to be formidable and cautious, and hearken to the delicate alerts.”
Phrases or phrase he overuses “Tremendous, tremendous – however how will we transfer it to the subsequent degree?”
How he relaxes Crusing; tennis; being near the ocean; and enjoying along with his daughters on the seashore.