Bessemer and Blume Ventures backed re-commerce start-up ReGlobe.in eyes expansion pan India The company is on an aggressive drive to grow its partner network and plans to expand its partner network in the more than 30 cities.
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The market for second hand goods is flourishing and the same is expected to cross Rs 1,15,000 crore mark by 2015, according to a recent Assocham report. Similarly, another report points out that goods worth Rs 56,200 crore are simply lying unused across urban India. The potential of used household items being stocked can be unleashed if these goods are sold, thereby, creating a sustainable market for second-hand goods. Seeing this as an opportunity, many emerging start-ups like Overcart, Reboot, YNew, Budli.in, ReGlobe and others have ventured into this market in order to meet the consumers' rising demand.
Funded by Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP) and Blume Ventures, online re-commerce platform ReGlobe is one such start-up experiencing high demand of re-use goods on its platform. The company is on an aggressive drive to grow its partner network and plans to expand its partner network in the more than 30 cities.
Currently serving more than 5,500 pin-codes across India, ReGlobal provides a platform to customers to sell their old or used electronic gadgets like old laptops, mobile phones, tablets, game consoles, TVs and Air Conditioners instantly. The devices that are bought are refurbished and sold in the second hand market through a dealer network.
The partner expansion is in sync with the company's vision to expand their presence in 30 cities and introduce 5 new categories like Digital Cameras, Washing Machine, Fridge etc in the second hands goods market. The company plans to take its partners to about 1,000 in numbers, up from the current 250.
Commenting on the expansion, Nakul Kumar, Co-founder, ReGlobe, said, "There is a paradigm shift in people's perception of refurbished goods. The used goods market is experiencing exponential growth and ReGlobe is at the center of it. ReGlobe provides a secure, convenient and a value-for-money avenue to our customers, who want to sell their used electronic products by providing facilities like instant cash, doorstep pick-up, and data protection. Our partners are a critical component of our ecosystem. In order to service our customers, we are looking to collaborate with more partners in the cities we are present in".
Currently, ReGlobe caters to Indian cities like – Delhi, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Noida, Ghaziabad, Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Baroda, Chennai, Secunderabad and Hyderabad. On the ReGlobe.in platform, users can get a quote for their product within 24 hours, and the company also picks up the product from the consumer's home. The last mile is facilitated through its partner network that picks up the product from the user, and then refurbishes it for sale in the second hand goods market. More than 43,000 customers have sold over 48,000 used products on the ReGlobe platform.
"Prior to ReGlobe.in, I would spend hours on classified sites, yellow pages and also advertise in local pamphlets to maintain my inventory pipeline. These methods were inefficient in terms of both time and money, and the effect left a lot to be desired as well. But with ReGlobe's platform, I have seen my business soar. ReGlobe.in ensures that my inventory pipeline is adequately maintained," said Ayaz Khoja, an existing partner of ReGlobe.
To help its partners build and maintain successful practices, ReGlobe is rolling out a comprehensive initiative that will provide them with certification, sales and marketing tools and resources and incentives as well. The association with ReGlobe is a win-win for the partners as it ensures a steady inventory for them through a reputed source.
Recently, Amazon India has tied up with ReGlobe for a scheme where users who are going to buy new startphone can exchange it with their old phone. Similarly, other e-cormerce gaint like ebay has also tied up with 7 refurbishers in India as it looks to meet growing demand of such products.
