Refurbed, the fastest growing online marketplace for refurbished electronic devices in Europe, has launched its e-commerce store for Ireland.
The company has commenced its introductory campaign ‘Go Greener for St. Patrick’s Day’ as it officially enters the Irish market. The campaign will run during the St Patrick’s Festival (11- 21 March) with every sale in Ireland resulting in two trees being planted instead of one through their partnership with Eden Reforestation Projects.
The Refurbed service, which offers a range of over 8,000 products, will launch with 120 of their most popular products, with a view to expanding the available range over the coming months.
The catalogue of products ranges from smartphones to laptops and tablets from top household brands such as Apple, Samsung, Dell, Lenovo and Huawei. The decision to expand into Ireland comes after a noticeable increase from the Irish consumers in the demand for more environmentally conscious, and more affordable alternative solutions to buying electronics.
Founded in 2017 by Peter Windischhofer, Kilian Kaminski and Jürgen Riedl, Refurbed currently employs more than 100 people. Refurbed has raised €18 million to date including a €16 million Series A round in 2020, which has allowed them to continue to rapidly expand across Europe, now operating in 5 countries including Austria, Germany, Poland, Italy, and now Ireland. With the market for refurbished electronics in Europe set to surpass €10 billion by 2022, Refurbed looks to continue to further expand across the continent.
Refurbed offers completely refurbished electronic devices in the region of 40% cheaper than similar new devices. A refurbished electronic device does not necessarily mean the device is used, a common thought when people hear the word refurbished. These are products that are overhauled and undergo a 40 step refurbishment process to the point that they are returned virtually as new, at a much lower price. For those environmentally conscious customers, a refurbishment creates 70% less CO2 than the creation of a new electronic device.
Brexit has created a need for an alternative European based marketplace for Irish customers to avoid custom delays on their electronic product purchases, said a statement from the company.
“Having seen the negative impact that Brexit has had on Irish customers who wish to buy from UK marketplaces, we wanted to ensure Irish consumers had an alternative, hassle-free option to purchase electrical goods online at a reduced price,” Peter Windischhofer of Refurbed.
“We’re acutely aware of the changes and challenges that the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has created for households, particularly young families with children who were homeschooling. We appreciate there is a need for electronic products to support young students and we believe we can assist these families with our refurbished products at a reduced rate, which will take some of the stress away from homeschooling and studying needs.”
Windischhofer added: “We are fully aware that Irish consumers are thinking about the impact their purchases have on the environment and are becoming more environmentally conscious about the decisions they make. We want to make sure that Irish customers have a choice to shop green not only during the St. Patrick’s Festival but well into the future.
“We strive to protect the environment and with purchases from Refurbed, you not only actively reduce electronic waste but you also assist in reforesting woodland and reducing CO₂ emissions. We are proud to be going even greener for St. Patrick’s Day with our establishment here.”
Refurbed is a CO2 negative and an environmentally positive organisation – for every product sold, Refurbed plants a tree to offset carbon emissions created during the refurbishing process. The trees are planted in countries such as Haiti, Madagascar, Kenya, Indonesia and Mozambique or Nepal through their partnership with Eden Reforestation Projects.
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