We live in a world captivated by the allure of the next best thing. In tech, the trend has always been to strive for the latest, most advanced, and shiniest. However, this thirst for newness has exacerbated an already worsening environmental pollution problem. According to the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Forum, 57.4 million tons of electronic waste were produced globally in 2021, but only 20% was properly collected and recycled. These numbers highlight the urgent need for a paradigm shift in tech, and Thibaud Hug de Larauze, CEO of Back Market, is championing just that.
Thibaud's vision was born during his globetrotting education journey. Traveling from France to Toronto, Mexico, Spain, India, and Haiti greatly enriched his perspective of diverse global markets and equipped him to handle the evolving business landscape. Upon returning to France, Thibaud joined Neteven, supporting refurbishing factories in their web distribution journey. This experience opened his eyes to the massive potential in the refurbished electronics space and laid the foundation for Back Market.
A pivotal moment in this journey happened when Thibaud visited a client's factory in a remote part of France. "I was struck by the vast disparity between the sophisticated processes on site and the way these refurbished gadgets were presented to consumers in marketplaces such as eBay," he recalls. He realized that the refurbished industry needed a dedicated platform, a place where these products could be presented as viable, exciting alternatives to new purchases. Determined to make it a reality, he shared his vision with his co-founders Quentin Le Brouster and Vanney Vlaute, and thus Back Market was born.
Quality has been Back Market's guiding principle since its inception. By leveraging user data, the platform ranks suppliers based on quality scores, driving constant performance improvement. The results have been heartening. By mid-2022, Back Market had grown to include 2,000 vendors, catered to 6M clients, and, following the latest funding round, was valued at $5.7B.
Moreover, Back Market's commitment to sustainability and good governance earned it B Corp status in 2023. This means Back Market conducts business in an environmentally conscious and socially inclusive manner and is also legally accountable for upholding these standards in the future. So far, the company's approach has prevented 1 million tonnes of CO2e from entering the atmosphere, contributing substantially to the global fight against climate change.
In the future, Thibaud and his team plan to expand the product sell-back model to include more devices and markets. Their focus will remain on delivering impeccable client services, a crucial pillar of fa cilitating business growth. While the company currently operates in France, Germany, Spain, the US, the UK, Japan, and South Korea, as well as several other smaller markets, they continue to expand further across the globe with plans to penetrate already in place.
Thibaud's vision for Back Market extends beyond the refurbishing industry. For him, each refurbished device is more than just a product; it is a step toward a greener, more sustainable future. By championing refurbished tech and thrusting it into the limelight, Thibaud is taking strides to alter consumer habits and disrupt the electronic waste cycle, establishing Back Market as a harbinger of sustainable consumer tech. Indeed, in its pursuit of making refurbished tech mainstream, Back Market is not merely a platform for purchasing electronics; it's an emblem of good governance, a green unicorn illuminating the path to a more sustainable business model.
