Paris, November 25, 2024 – Fifteen years after its founding, Recommerce, the French pioneer in the refurbished tech sector, has become the European leader in trade-in, refurbishment, and resale of electronic products. The company has given a second life to more than 6 million smartphones and has paid back over €370 million to consumers.

With more than 15% growth in 2024, Recommerce reaches €175 million in revenue, fueled by the growing support of its partners, including Bouygues Telecom, Orange, SFR, Free, Boulanger, Vodafone, Microsoft, Samsung, and Amazon. Recommerce is a key player in building a circular economy in France and across Europe.

Recommerce is also proud to see its environmental impact recognized, having generated over 28,000 carbon credits available for sale, corresponding to 28,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions avoided through its refurbishment activities between 2022 and 2023.

“Recommerce is now a stable and resilient player thanks to the diversity of its partner solutions, product portfolio, and local presence in 12 European countries. Despite market instability in recent years, this circular, ethical, and collective journey continues to grow, averaging 20% annual growth. We’ve now reached a cumulative turnover of more than €800 million since 2009! We’re thrilled to begin distributing carbon credits that reflect the environmental value of refurbished electronics and help fund new circular projects,” says Pierre-Etienne Roinat, Co-founder and President of Recommerce.

A responsible project since 2009

Driven by the belief that used products still have value, Pierre-Etienne Roinat, Benoît Varin, Antoine Jeanjean, and Cédric Maucourt founded Recommerce Solutions in 2009. They understood that extending product life is essential to reducing environmental impact. Initially launched as a white-label trade-in service, the model quickly gained traction with major brands like Bouygues Telecom, SFR, Samsung, and Boulanger.

“When we created Recommerce, our mission was to reduce the impact of consumption on the environment by extending product lifespan through circular economy practices and refurbishment,” explains Benoît Varin, Co-founder and Secretary General of Recommerce.

Today, Recommerce is Europe’s leading refurbishment company, working with a wide range of telecom operators, retailers, manufacturers, and distributors in more than 25 European countries.

Innovation-driven international development

Since launching in Switzerland in 2014, the refurbished smartphone pioneer has expanded to 12 countries, including the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Germany, Portugal, Hungary, Czech Republic, Romania, Belgium, and Poland.

While international growth remains a strategic focus, Recommerce is also committed to developing tech solutions that make second life products the default option across all industries. This is the mission behind CircularX, a SaaS solution launched in 2021, designed to scale the circular economy while ensuring transparency, trust, service, and warranty for end users.

As a technological leader in the refurbishment market, Recommerce offers a comprehensive suite of innovative solutions that allow partners to design trade-in and resale programs, tailored to all aspects of the second-hand market (bonuses, testing tools, traceability…).

Recommerce has been the trusted trade-in partner for Bouygues Telecom for 15 years, and is also celebrating 10 years of collaboration with Swiss national operator Swisscom. Beyond telecom, Recommerce’s diversified offerings now serve multi-product retailers such as Boulanger and Electro Dépôt.

At the forefront of innovation, Recommerce is launching Recommerce Copilot™, an AI-powered in-store assistant tool that supports diagnosis and trade-in processes by leveraging the company’s mobile testing expertise.

Environmental impact recognized through carbon credits

Since September 2024, Recommerce has begun distributing carbon credits through Riverse, the first certification platform dedicated to circular economy projects, accredited by ICROA.

Revenue from carbon credit sales will enable Recommerce to scale its impact, invest in more local and circular loops, increase the volume of refurbished products, and amplify social and environmental co-benefits. This includes expanding trade-in programs that boost consumer purchasing power while creating local jobs.

“We’re proud to issue carbon credits that reflect the thousands of tonnes of CO₂ avoided through our refurbishment efforts over the past 15 years. Today, in Europe, only 5% of devices are actually refurbished. Promoting local refurbishment is crucial, especially when 80% of the environmental impact comes from manufacturing, and 70% of refurbished devices sold on the market are imported from abroad,” says Augustin Becquet, CEO of Recommerce.

Strong ties with the social and solidarity economy (SSE) and associations

From the start, Recommerce has been a socially-driven initiative. In 2009, the company launched MonExTel, a flagship service allowing consumers to trade in their old phones and donate the value to one of several partner NGOs working on women’s rights, human rights, and more.

MonExTel has since become an integrated part of RECOMMERCE SOLUTIONS. Since 2009, the service has helped collect 57,729 devices, generating over €163,200 in donations to partner associations.

To manage the various stages of refurbishment (collection, sorting, logistics, repair), Recommerce has always partnered with inclusion-focused organizations, from ESAT du Cailly (Rouen) in 2009, to Gestform in southern France and Réalise in Geneva today.

Recommerce also donates €1 per order placed on its e-commerce site to a selected association. Organizations such as Surfrider Europe, the Good Planet Foundation, Zero Waste France, and Pikpik Environnement have benefited from this initiative. Since its launch, over €234,000 have been donated.