• Largo specializes in the reconditioning of smartphones, tablets and laptops.

  • Based in Sainte-Luce-sur-Loire, near Nantes, it employs 55 people.

It is a rapidly developing sector with a bright future.

Over 2.5 million refurbished cell phones were sold last year in France.

Four companies specializing in reconditioning share the activity.

Among them, the company Largo, founded five years ago, which employs 55 people in Sainte-Luce-sur-Loire, near Nantes.

Its dynamism is such that its turnover has multiplied by six since its launch, reaching 10 million euros in 2020.

"The refurbished is not the occasion, warns Christophe Brunot, co-founder of Largo.

It is an experience close to the new.

There are essential industrial steps for the customer to be at ease.

"

"We change one battery out of two"

Reconditioning first requires a careful assessment of the condition of the product, referred to as "grading". From there, the phones undergo a “wipe all data” and are loaded with a “new operating system”. They will then undergo 123 functional tests at 31 checkpoints, "a bit like a motor vehicle technical check".

Compliant telephones go directly to cleaning to be put up for sale.

Those with defects are repaired.

“We change every other battery,” explains Christophe Brunot.

It is usually the first part to renew.

We also often intervene on the screen, speakers, buttons.

There are some more complicated failures, such as a Bluetooth problem for example, which require soldering on the motherboard.

Most of the spare parts come from used telephones, especially those imported from the United States.

Price as the number one criterion

In total, Largo manages to restore 90% of the smartphones it receives, or 50,000 units put back on the market. These are mainly offered by distributors, specialized (Back Market, etc.) or not (Leclerc, Fnac, Darty, etc.), but also by in-store operators. And what appeals to consumers first is the price. "On average 30% to 50% cheaper than new, assures the co-founder of Largo. For example, the iPhone 8 was worth 800 euros when it came out. Today we find it in reconditioned at 200 euros. It meets the expectations of many people, knowing that technological advances in smartphones are no longer spectacular. "

The other purchasing criterion put forward is the “eco-citizen gesture”.

“There is a growing awareness, especially since the pandemic.

It takes 44 kg of raw materials on average to make a new smartphone.

For a reconditioned, it is ten times less.

As for the lifespan of a refurbished vehicle, a source of concern for customers, it is estimated between 6 and 7 years.

“A French person changes model every two years on average,” notes Christophe Brunot.

"We were taken for extraterrestrials"

Convinced of the potential, Largo, who is also working to refurbish tablets and laptops, launched its IPO in the spring to "give itself the means" to grow further.

“At the beginning we were told that reconditioning had no future, we were taken for extraterrestrials,” recalls Christophe Brunot.

Today there is a fundamental trend.

We can also observe what is happening in the used car market, which is much more mature, where new vehicles account for less than 30% of sales.

There is still room, however.

In 2020, 86% of cell phones sold in France were new.

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  • High-Tech

  • Planet

  • Recycling

  • Smartphone

  • Nantes