Back Market Achieves Global Profitability 12 Years After Launch
- Back Market, the French online marketplace for refurbished electronics, has achieved profitability for the first time, twelve years after its founding.
- Back Market reported annual revenue of €440 million, though the specific amount of its profit was not disclosed.
- “We continued to develop with the European engine which accelerated further, and markets that were less mature became more mature,” said Thibaud Hug de Larauze, the company’s CEO.
Back Market, the French online marketplace for refurbished electronics, has achieved profitability for the first time, twelve years after its founding. The company reached this milestone globally in , following a profitable in Europe, according to a company statement.
Back Market reported annual revenue of €440 million, though the specific amount of its profit was not disclosed. The platform’s total transaction volume reached €3 billion for the year, representing a 32% increase. The company is currently valued at €5 billion, a valuation established in .
“We continued to develop with the European engine which accelerated further, and markets that were less mature became more mature,” said Thibaud Hug de Larauze, the company’s CEO. The United States market, while still in an earlier stage of development, is also experiencing accelerating growth, the company noted. This performance reflects a broader shift in the electronics market, with refurbished goods gaining traction against new products.
Founded in Paris in , Back Market operates in 17 countries and serves 18 million customers. The marketplace connects buyers with a network of 1,800 professional refurbishers who prepare items for resale on the platform. The company has expanded beyond smartphones to include a wider range of reconditioned products, such as computers, cameras, video game consoles, and household appliances.
The achievement of profitability follows a period of restructuring for Back Market. In early , the company implemented a plan to reduce costs, including the elimination of approximately 100 positions, representing nearly 15% of its workforce. The company now employs 700 people. While Back Market did not provide financial forecasts for , Hug de Larauze indicated that the positive momentum seen at the beginning of the year is continuing.
Back Market’s success comes at a time when the broader refurbished electronics market is gaining prominence. The company’s growth trajectory has outpaced competitors such as Refurbed, with a lifetime GMV of $1.1 billion, and Swappie, which reported revenue of $98 million in . According to Sacra estimates, Back Market generated $415 million in revenue in , a 25% increase from $333 million in .
The company’s revenue composition breaks down as follows: 68% from seller commissions (a fixed 10% of GMV), 14% from consumer service fees, and 18% from add-on services like insurance, warranties, seller advertising, and carrier partnerships. Back Market’s effective take rate has increased from 11.7% in to 14.8% in , while maintaining stable average selling prices of $330.
Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) reached $2.8 billion in , up 25% year-over-year from $2.3 billion in . The UK market has shown particularly strong growth, with an 80% year-over-year increase in GMV. The United States has become Back Market’s second-largest market by size.
Back Market has achieved profitability in its 13 European markets. The company is also experiencing rapid growth in its B2B segment, with approximately 6,000 business customers in France and 250 in the United States. B2B growth is expected to double in .
The company is forecasting over €3 billion ($3.2 billion) in GMV for , representing over 30% year-over-year growth, accelerating from the 25% growth seen in . Back Market added 36% more new users in the second quarter of compared to the same period in the previous year.