Paris-based Back Market raises €448.4M at €5B valuation for its renewed electronics marketplace

Paris-based Back Market, an online marketplace dedicated to refurbished smartphones and electronic devices, announced on Wednesday that it has raised $510M (approx €448.4M) in its Series E round of funding at a valuation of $5.7B (approx €5B).

The new funding comes after a $335M Series D round it had raised in May 2021. Including the current round, Back Market has raised a total of more than $1B in funding since its inception in 2014.

The Series E round was led by a new investor, Sprints Capital, with support from existing investors Eurazeo, Aglaé Ventures, General Atlantic, and Generation Investment Management.

The proceeds from this round will help the company to invest primarily in ensuring like-new product quality and delivering a ‘world-class’ customer experience with an aim of expanding its global customer base. Currently, the company serves more than 6 million customers worldwide. 

Online marketplace for refurbished electronics

Launched in 2014 by Thibaud Hug de Larauze, Quentin Le Brouster, and Vianney Vaute, Back Market claims to offer high-quality professionally refurbished electronic devices and appliances to customers in 13 countries including the Netherlands, the US, France, Germany, the UK, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Austria, and more recently, Portugal, Japan, Finland, Ireland, Greece, Slovakia, and Sweden.

According to Hug de Larauze, renewed electronics are more affordable and are better for the environment than new electronics. He says that the devices sold on Back Market have an average failure rate of about 4 percent, whereas the unofficial failure rate of new devices is currently at 3 per cent. 

“We are in a very attractive position as a sustainable and reliable alternative to buying new and we are continuously improving our quality control processes to approach the same level of reliability,” adds Hug de Larauze.

With more than 1,500 sellers on its platform and growing, Back Market claims to be continuously working towards providing and ensuring high quality of products. The company believes this will help them increase consumer confidence in the brand and the refurbished sector.

Currently, the company employs a team of 650 people across its 4 offices in New York, Berlin, Paris, and Bordeaux.

Back Market doubles down on the US market

Thibaud Hug de Larauze says, “Our goal is to make refurbished electronics the first choice for tech purchases. We expect to see a similar development in the electronics market as we have witnessed in the pre-owned car market in America, where consumer confidence in buying second-hand vehicles has resulted in sales that have increased twofold compared to new car sales.”

To meet the US market’s growing demand for sustainable tech, the US team is expected to more than double in size, bringing in new talent with experience in product design, supply, innovation, software development, merchandising as well as ‘award-winning’ creatives.

Lauren Benton, General Manager of Back Market US, says, “We are taking e-commerce best practices a step further by offering customers a streamlined discovery experience, ensuring that they are immediately directed to top-performing sellers on our marketplace for any specific device they are seeking. We also offer a like-new purchasing experience with a 1-year warranty, 30-day money-back guarantee, and free standard shipping with every item.”