Founded in 2014 by Thibaud Hug de Larauze, Back Market has since established itself as an essential site for buyers of reconditioned products. The platform appeals to consumers attracted by the ecological approach or aggressive prices. Discover the journey of the successful entrepreneur!
The IÉSEG years of Thibaud Hug de Larauze: the beginnings of the Back Market adventure
Thibaud Hug de Larauze joined IÉSEG in 2006, after obtaining his bac S at the French high school in Toronto. The post-baccalaureate business school has a campus in Paris and La Défense and has graduated many entrepreneurs, such as the founder of Agricool, but also Lalalab and Epicery.
During his training, he went on exchange, in 2007, to the Universidad de Monterrey, to complete a Bachelor in International Relations and Affairs. In 2010, he went to the International Management Institute to pursue the MBA program in Entrepreneurship. He will graduate from IÉSEG in 2011 with a Master’s degree in International Negotiation, also specializing in entrepreneurship.
If the startup spirit begins to vibrate in Thibaut Hug de Larauze during his studies at the IÉSEG School of Management, the young student will complete two internships at Lacoste: the first, in 2010, in logistics and export; the second, in 2011, asEuropean positioning consultant.
Before Back Market by Thibaud Hug de Larauze
Thibaud Hug de Larauze therefore graduated from IÉSEG in 2011 and completed his end-of-study internship in December 2011. He followed directly with a position at Neteven. This company positions itself as an intermediary between companies that have goods to sell and marketplaces Amazon type, thanks to its software and services. This will be a significant experience for Thibaud Hug de Larauze whose Back Market site will be based on a type model marketplace.
The entrepreneur will spend almost two years within Neteven as aaccount manager. He will take care of the acquisition of new customers in the textile and high-tech sector and will specialize in the development of the reconditioned products branch, a field which strangely resembles that in which Back Market operates.
After this experience at Neteven, Thibaud Hug de Larauze joined Commerce Solution, another company specializing in distribution on e-commerce sites in Europe. He remained in this company for 9 months where he was sales manager. He left the organization in July 2014, a month before officially starting the Back Market adventure.
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The beginnings of Back Market
It was when he worked at Neteven that Thibaud Hug de Larauze began to imagine Back Market. At the time, he did not yet know that he would found such a popular platform, but he realized that high-tech second-hand products were not valued enough. He quickly realized that a niche existed: traditional e-commerce sites mainly sell new products, while the second-hand market operates on platforms where it is impossible for the buyer to check the quality of his product. future smartphone or computer.
The entrepreneur will therefore join forces with Quentin Le Brouster and Vianney Vaute to found Back Market which will emerge in November 2014. The first partner is today CTO of the company. He graduated from the University of Caen Basse-Normandie and Paris VII and worked in particular with Neteven. The second is CCO (Chief Creative Officer) and studied at CELSA.
The Back Market rocket takes off
The company’s objective is to give a second life to smartphones, computers or tablets that have already had a first owner. The site connects certified resellers with consumers wishing to make an ecological gesture for the planet and/or to obtain a product at a discounted price.
The site opened its doors in November 2014. The first year, Thibaud Hug de Larauze recorded a business volume of 3 million euros. The following year, this amount rose to 30 million. It climbed to 96 million in 2017 and was around 230 million in 2018. In 2020, confinement will have allowed the platform to double the number of orders. At the same time, the turnover recorded by Back Market reached 10 million euros in 2017 while the reconditioned phone market jumped by 7%.
At the same time, Thibaud Hug de Larauze and his associates are carrying out several fundraising efforts, including the first in love money. The entrepreneur calls on his loved ones and his father in particular. The second round of financing (Series A), carried out in 2017, allowed Back Market to raise 7 million euros from Daphni and Aglaé Ventures. In Series B, the company raises 41 million euros to accelerate its internationalization. The first two investors are joined by the Arnault group and Eurazeo. Back Market’s last fundraising dates from 2020 and raised 110 million euros, notably from Goldman Sachs.
The three friends are also taking the opportunity to boost their teams: the company has 280 employees at the start of 2020 and hopes to reach 600 employees by 2022. Back Market has also opened its platform in Europe and the United States. The company also has premises in New York, in addition to its offices in Paris and Bordeaux.
Back Market fundraising
In 2015Back Market carries out its first fundraising amounting to 300,000 euros from private investors. Two years later, she raised 7 million euros. At that time, the company was operating in several countries in Europe: Spain, Germany, Belgium, Italy. Its turnover amounted to 96 million euros.
In 2018, Back Market once again raised 41 million euros from Daphni, the Arnault group, Thierry Petit and Eurazeo. In 2020, the startup took advantage of the confinement, due to the pandemic, to double its sales compared to the previous year. It has 1,200 reconditioning partners to its credit. A fourth fundraising was carried out in 2020 and raised 110 million euros from previous partners and Goldman Sachs Growth. Thibaud Hug de Larauz explains to Ouest France: “ We managed to bring in the American investment fund Goldman Sachs, alongside our historic investors Aglaé Ventures and Eurazeo Growth. Goldman Sachs understands our ambition: After raising 48 million euros in 2018, this new funding round of 110 million euros will support our desire to become the world leader in second-hand products. »
In May 2021the startup announces a fundraising of 276 million euros. Thus, the young company becomes a new French unicorn, a few days after Alan and Shift Technology. However, if this fundraising is excellent news for Back Market, the startup mentions the “ bitter taste » of the famous royalty on private copying. Today, this tax applied to new products. Now the government also wants to impose it for refurbished devices. This decision would have a huge impact on the business of Back Market which posted a post on its blog titled: “ Why we didn’t quite plan to release the champagne, despite fundraising of 276 million euros. »
The environmental and ecological commitment of Thibaud Hug de Larauze with Back Market
The co-founder of Back Market built this platform with the ambition of having an ecological approach. In 2019, there were no less than 53.6 million tonnes of electronic waste worldwide, which represented 7.3kg per capita. By repurposing products that would have been discarded or by giving a second life to objects already used, Thibaud Hug de Larauze contributes to the reduction of this significant quantity of waste.
In an interview given to LSAThibaud Hug de Larauze indicated that a “ Refurbished smartphone consumes four times less CO2 than a new one. » This ecological act carried out with Back Market is one of the elements which encourages customers to go to the site. In addition, the quantity of waste avoided is also indicated next to each product, to raise consumer awareness of this dimension.
Back Market in 2020 and the future of Thibaud Hug de Larauze
Today, Back Market employs almost 300 employees and wishes to grow by recruiting new employees. The site has established itself as a key player in the reconditioned market. It has opened up to household appliances, televisions, consoles, headphones, speakers, etc. It stands out with generous exchange and warranty policies (12 months warranty compared to 6 months on average with other resellers). Back Market currently works with 1,200 certified resellers.
Back Market now allows you to purchase reconditioned products in France, but also in the United States, Spain, Germany, Belgium and Italy. 50% of the company’s turnover is made outside France.
The health crisis also allowed Thibaud Hug de Larauze to observe a jump in the number of orders placed on the platform. Back Market is not experiencing the crisis and took advantage of the confinement to equip many employees who found themselves forced to telework.
Currently, the site is focusing on two areas of development: collaboration with new resellers of reconditioned products, to gain more market share and international development, particularly in the United States; a market that has grown significantly in recent months thanks to the $1,200 Trump bonus. This bonus was paid to Americans as part of the economic recovery plan, voted in spring 2020, following the health crisis.
2021: Back Market becomes a unicorn, a bitter-tasting success
In May 2021, Back Market established itself as the 14th French unicorn thanks to a fundraising of 276 million euros. While this was great news for this startup, the success had a bitter taste for the company’s founders. In an article published on the Back Market blog, Thibaud Hug de Larauze explained: “ LThe French government now wants to apply this fee to repackaged products. Which constitutes a double injustice. For consumers first – who will see their purchasing power eroded by a new tax, which will sometimes be paid twice (when purchasing the new product, then again once this product is sold reconditioned). Then for reconditioners – because this fee (€14 per reconditioned device on average) will obviously cut into their margins and reduce their competitiveness. »
Unfortunately and despite significant lobbying from players in the sector, the law imposing a tax on reconditioned devices passed in November 2021, forcing customers to pay twice a tax which is already present on new products .
Thibaud Hug de Larauze and the success of Back Market, the most valuable startup in France!
For several days, Thibaud Hug de Larauze has been at the center of the news thanks to an impressive fundraising campaign led by Back Market. In fact, his startup managed to raise 450 million euros. This operation allowed this unicorn to be valued at more than $5.5 billion. It therefore supplants other giants like Sorare or Qonto.
What makes the success of Thibaud Hug de Larauze and Back Market really lies in the potential reconditioned market which today represents 10% of sales of electronic products. With this fundraising, the startup has already announced a major wave of recruitment. This operation aims to accelerate two subjects on which Back Market wishes to position itself: the spare parts market and the internationalization of the startup. Indeed, the unicorn co-founded by Thibaud Hug de Larauze is now focusing on the United States and Japan.
