The evolving startup scenario combined with various technological innovations has given rise to numerous business models that are unique and harbingers of social change.
In this case, an emerging category that is flooding in the European market is the refurbishment products industry. With everything becoming costlier, the refurbished market here has great potential for the coming years and decades. Falling in between a brand new and second hand, these products are as good as new with seller’s warranty.
Since technology is unfolding at a rapid phase, the gadgets get outdated with the blink of an eye. In some cases, this has driven the millennials to opt for refurbished products at half the price instead of shelling out money. Before getting into the list of startups, let’s understand what Refurbished products mean.
Some of them have a misconception that all refurbished products are used or secondhand goods. According to the Internet definition, “Refurbishment is the distribution of products (usually electronics) that have been previously returned to a manufacturer or vendor for various reasons. Refurbished products are normally tested for functionality and defects before they are sold.”
Having said that, we have listed out 6 tech startups in Europe with the help of Dealroom that promise to help you pick refurbished gadgets (electronics )that have undergone a quality check.
Back Market (Paris)
Funding: €48M
Founders: Quentin Le Brouster, Thibaud Hug de Larauze, Vianney Vaute
Back Market makes it easier for consumers to find and buy professionally-refurbished personal technology products and appliances at up to 70% off their original prices. With this platform, the company aims to provide consumers with an economical and ecological alternative to buying new products through recycling second hand electronics.
Forall Phones (Lisbon)
Funding: €2.6M
Founder: José Costa Rodrigues
Founded in 2016, the company is on a mission to make premium technology affordable while empowering people to live a fulfilled life. Through its platform, the Forall Phones sells refurbished Apple smartphones with discounts up to 40%.
Refurbed (Austria)
Funding: €2M
Founders: Jürgen Riedl, Kilian Kaminski, Peter Windischhofer
This fastest growing online marketplace sells renewed phones, laptops and tablets which are up to 40% cheaper and 100% more environmentally friendly. Refurbed devices are renewed through a 40-step process and come with at least a 12-month guarantee.
Refurb.dk (Denmark)
Refurb offers cheap desktop and good quality laptop, tablet and other IT equipment. For the uninitiated, the company buys used laptops and PCs from companies in Denmark, Scandinavia and the rest of Europe, optimise it and resell the equipment with up to the 3-year warranty.
FlexRay Medical (Germany)
CEO: Mads Vittrup
FlexRay Medical is a Danish-based dealer of used medical equipment, pre-owned and refurbished imaging systems. The company sells pre-owned CT scanners and pre-owned MRI scanner with advanced technology. The company has both a storage facility and offices in Germany and Denmark.
Techbuyer (UK)
Founders: Kevin Towers
Techbuyer (previously known as Pinnacle Data) deals with buying, refurbishing and selling of data centre equipment. Founded in 2005, the company helps businesses maximise their IT budgets by supplying cost-effective new and quality refurbished products like servers, storage, memory and networking equipment from over 150 brands including HPE, Dell, IBM and Cisco.
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