Vienna Scale-up Refurbed Hits €3B GMV, Challenging France’s Back Market
The market for refurbished electronics in Europe is booming. Two leading platforms, the Austrian company Refurbed and French competitor Back Market, have reached the three billion euro gross merchandise volume (GMV) mark within just a few months of each other. This demonstrates a remarkable catch-up race by the younger Vienna-based scale-up.
Rapid Growth at Refurbed
Refurbed, founded in Vienna nine years ago, has increased its gross merchandise volume from two to three billion euros in less than eleven months. This corresponds to exponential growth, made possible by 50 million euros in funding last year.
CEO Peter Windischhofer comments on the development: “After achieving profitability and securing fresh capital, we invest where we see clear demand and functioning infrastructure. We scale where our model works, and we know that it works.”
Massive Expansion into New Markets
Refurbed has doubled its presence from eleven to 24 European markets. The expansion encompasses 13 new countries, including major markets such as France, Spain, the United Kingdom, Poland, and Switzerland. The platform now addresses a combined market of 486 million consumers. In terms of the number of countries, Refurbed now sees itself as the market leader in Europe.
The company recorded overall growth of approximately 40 percent compared to the previous year and has sold over ten million products across all markets. In its home market of Austria, nearly one in ten adults has already shopped at Refurbed.
Back Market Reports Strong Growth
Back Market, which has been on the market since 2014, reported a gross merchandise volume of over three billion euros for 2025. This corresponds to an increase of 30 percent compared to the previous year. The platform now connects 17 million customers worldwide.
Germany is developing particularly strongly, where Back Market recorded growth of 56 percent in the second quarter of 2025. Martin Huegli, Chief Commercial Officer at Back Market, explains: “Germany is rapidly developing into a core market for sustainable technology. The impressive growth demonstrates that refurbished premium devices are no longer a niche topic for customers.”
Different Strategies, Similar Goals
Both companies pursue different growth strategies. While Refurbed focuses strongly on European expansion and emphasizes the number of markets as a differentiating feature, Back Market has a global orientation with strong growth in the USA, which has become its second-largest market.
Refurbed is increasingly focusing on a new premium segment with “excellent” products, which grew by 113 percent in orders. Additionally, the company cooperates with brand manufacturers such as Dyson, Kärcher, and AEG, which refurbish their own products and sell them through the platform.
Back Market is expanding its offering to include a repair platform, which has been available in France, Germany, and Spain since September 2025. The company also expanded its business customer offering, which is already used by almost 6,000 companies in France.
Refurbishment Market Booms
The success of both platforms reflects a fundamental shift in consumer behavior. According to Back Market, the market share of refurbished technology compared to new devices has increased from four to 36 percent since 2011. Drivers include both ecological considerations and economic factors such as rising prices and geopolitical uncertainty.
“Refurbishment is no longer a niche; for many customers in Europe, it is the new normal to buy refurbished products,” says Refurbed CEO Peter Windischhofer.
Outlook
With both companies reaching the three billion euro mark, it is evident that the European market for refurbished products has room for multiple strong players. While Back Market relies on its longer market presence and global reach, Refurbed scores points with rapid growth and the largest number of European markets. Competition is likely to accelerate further professionalization and growth across the entire industry.
