Paris-based Back Market, a marketplace for used and refurbished gadgets that operates in six countries including US, raises €41M Series B led by Groupe Arnault
Chris O'Brien / VentureBeat :
Context & Ripple Effects
In June 2018, Back Market was a Paris-based marketplace for used and refurbished gadgets operating in six countries including the US, and its €41M Series B — led by Groupe Arnault, the investment vehicle of the family behind LVMH — was the bet that secondhand devices could be sold like new ones, with warranties and quality grading, rather than through classifieds. The round looks small only in hindsight: it seeded a funding arc that ran through a $120M round backed by Goldman Sachs in 2020, a $335M Series D at a $3.2B valuation in 2021, and a $510M raise at $5.7B by January 2022.
By the time The Guardian profiled the company in 2024, Back Market had raised over €930M, generated €320M in 2023 sales (up 45% year-over-year) and added 4.5 million new users that year — evidence that the 2018 thesis about consumer appetite for certified refurbished electronics held. The category also attracted European competition, with Vienna-based Refurbed raising $54M in 2021 to chase the same buyers.
First-order effects
- Groupe Arnault's lead gives Back Market fresh capital to expand beyond its six existing markets, including the US, where it competes directly with local resale channels for supply of used iPhones and other devices.
- The round validates Back Market's graded-and-warranted marketplace model over informal peer-to-peer resale, letting it invest in refurbisher partnerships and quality control ahead of demand.
Second-order effects
- Rival European marketplaces are forced to match the funding pace — Refurbed's later $54M Series B shows investors willing to back a direct challenger rather than concede the category.
- Device makers and carriers face a growing secondary channel that extends device lifecycles, pressuring upgrade cycles and trade-in economics for new handset sales.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, refurbished electronics consolidates around branded marketplaces with quality guarantees, shifting consumer tech retail from a new-unit sales model toward a circular one where the same device changes hands multiple times.
- Sustained institutional money — from Groupe Arnault to Goldman Sachs to General Atlantic — points to refurbished tech becoming a permanent asset class in consumer retail rather than a niche sustainability play.
The trend: Consumer electronics retail is shifting toward certified refurbished marketplaces, with successive mega-rounds for Back Market and rivals turning secondhand devices into a mainstream, institutionally funded category.