Larauze Hub: "Back Market can grow by 20% in Spain over the next five years."

While shopping at an eco-friendly supermarket, they wondered why there wasn't a sustainable option for technology. It was 2014, and three friends, Thibaud Hug de Larauze , Quentin Le Brouster, and Vianney Vaute, developed a bio-cooperative for refurbished electronic devices (reconditioned to look like new), Back Market , which has now become the European benchmark.

Spain was the first country where it expanded from France, and the firm is currently present in 17 markets across Europe, the Americas, and Asia. "We will reach profitability in Europe in 2024, and we expect it for the company in 2026," Hug de Larauze (Colombes, France, 1988) explains to EXPANSIÓN in excellent Spanish, the result of a year of studies in Mexico, six months of working in Madrid, and an interest in connecting with clients who speak this language.

The company, which hasn't revealed how ownership is distributed, has raised €884 million in five rounds : from €7 million in 2017 to € 450 million in 2022. "The hardest was the first: you have to convince investors of the project," he comments. "We won't do any more rounds for now. The situation has changed in the last two or three years with the rise in interest rates. If growth was valued before, now we're asked to be profitable and grow sustainably," he points out.

"We have sufficient funds to invest in growth thanks to the fact that markets like France and Spain are already profitable ," he continues. Asked about the possibility of going public, although he doesn't rule it out, he assures us that it's not currently on our agenda. "We can be profitable and grow without an IPO," he says.

The executive, who participated in the SXSW creative industry event in London last week, defends his business model because it offers products—tablets, cell phones, laptops, smartwatches, etc.—that, on average, cost "twice as much" as the originals , come with a warranty, and reduce emissions.

Price more than the environment

"However, what drives our clients is price , not so much environmental considerations," he clarifies. For him, the environment is key: "The digital industry accounts for 4% of emissions, more than aviation, and by 2040 it could reach 14%," he warns.

The co-founder of Back Market describes the Spanish market 's performance as "incredible." It's the third largest market, after France and Germany, and he believes consumers "have understood the company's value proposition," something he attributes to the company's cultural proximity.

The refurbished electronics category accounts for 20% of the market in Spain, and within the segment of refurbished smartphones sold online, Back Market has a 77.1% share. Analyzing the global smartphone market (refurbished and new), only Amazon surpasses the French group.

Do you want to reach the top spot? "Yes, but the goal is to expand this market compared to new devices , reaching 50%. We're inspired by what's happened in the vehicle market," he says. For example, in Spain, 1.9 old cars were sold for every new unit in 2024.

Mobile phones and tablets

"In Spain, we've had great success with mobile phones and now with tablets. We can expand into other products, as we did in France, such as television, electronic games, small appliances... We aim not only to be present in the purchase and sale of devices, but also to grow in repair and maintenance," explains Hug de Larauze , also a director at Decathlon, a French multinational sports products company.

Back Market sees potential for growth in Spain "at a rate of 20% over the next four or five years" if its expectations are met.

The firm has its third tech hub in Barcelona's 22@ district, following two in Paris and Bordeaux. "We're opening it in 2022 with eight people and we already have 80 employees. It's a great city to live in and where you can find international talent. We don't plan on significantly increasing our workforce there, but given that people prefer Barcelona when filling vacancies, we could reach 200 people in five years ," he says, referring to a space populated primarily by engineers (software, data, digital operations, etc.) and marketing specialists.