Recommerce: the pioneer of reconditioned goods that has become a major player in the circular economy

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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 preserving resources is becoming more crucial than ever.

From association to business

The Recommerce teams can boast of having come a long way. Initially launched as an association called MonExtel, the group began its history by collecting unused mobile phones from customers to resell them in non-subsidized countries. The agent from the transactions was then donated to associations. Because at the end of the 2000s, the reality of the market was quite different: the value of this type of product was almost zero, with consumers primarily subscribing to a package.

It was the intervention of a major player in the sector, Bouygues Telecom, that took Recommerce to another dimension. The operator approached the young company with a view to reducing waste, giving rise to a product return program led by the two partners. The arrival of Free on the market changed the situation. ” The terminals had a real perceived value since the subsidy model was broken. And that's when the takeover business model exploded, and Recommerce transformed into a company “, explains Augustin Becquet, its CEO, in an interview with Presse-citron.

The journey of a refurbished smartphone

Today, the platform is the trade-in partner of several operators or large distributors, such as Boulanger. Its service is based on two main channels: in-store trade-ins, which represent 90% of transactions, and digital journeys. In-store, customers benefit from a secure and immediate data transfer, with an instant assessment of the trade-in value, which makes 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 a rigorous verification of the initial diagnostics provided by the customer, either through simple questions or through a test application. Once the product is received, it undergoes a complete process in the workshops: data erasure, testing on more than 60 control points, cleaning and, if necessary, repairs (battery, screen, cosmetics). The repaired products then integrate a resale stock accompanied by standardized accessories.

Those that are irreparable 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

While 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 trust 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 they will never encounter a problem with their product. However, we inform them that rigorous tests have been carried out and that in the event of a problem, a two-year warranty 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

It's a paid formula. Recommerce is now the leader in the recovery, reconditioning and resale of products. The company has given a second life to more than 6 million smartphones, and has returned more than 370 million euros to consumers. In 2024, it posted growth of 15%, achieving a turnover of 175 million euros. Better still, the group is now established in twelve European countries, and records an average growth of 20% per year.

In this context, it is multiplying 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 carry out circularity themselves “, specifies the director.

Similarly, the company recently presented Recommerce Copilot, a web application based on artificial intelligence to accelerate in-store diagnostics. The goal is to “be the most efficient when the customer wants to change their phone“.

The circular economy set to grow

Beyond its iron health, Recommerce now aims to become “ one of the leading players in Europe“, in particular by diversifying the type of products supported. The platform already handles laptops as well as consoles, and this catalog is set to grow.

Its growth prospects are favorable. “ The prices of raw materials are only going to increase, because everything that is rare is expensive », analyses Augustin Becquet. « We believe that the circular economy has a bright future ahead of it since the production costs for new devices will unfortunately increase », he continues.

For the manager, the work of informing 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.

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