EasyCep grew 4 times in 2023 and renewed nearly 200 thousand electronic devices. EasyCep, which started its international journey with Qatar and continues with Azerbaijan, will open its first premium experience and sales store abroad in the coming days.
EasyCep is expanding to Azerbaijan after Qatar!
EasyCep has increased its momentum in the rapidly growing refurbished electronic device market in the world and in our country. The company, which makes technology accessible to everyone, goes beyond the borders of Turkey and introduces consumers to the advantages of refurbished electronic devices in Qatar and Azerbaijan.
EasyCep, which has increased its capacity and total employment in parallel with the increasing interest of the consumer with the opportunities it provides, closed 2023 with a 4-fold growth and will reach its entire annual turnover in 2023 in April 2024. EasyCep, which has rapidly increased its number of stores throughout the country in the last year, aims to renew 340 thousand electronic devices in 2024 and obtain 5 percent of its turnover from its foreign operations.
EasyCep renewed nearly 200 thousand electronic devices in 2023
EasyCep continues its growth at full speed in 2023 by raising consumers’ awareness about the benefits of their renewed phone choice.
Although loans are limited to 3 months maturity for new phone purchases, EasyCep offers 12-month credit card installments and 12-month warranty service for refurbished electronic devices, and offers advantageous opportunities in accessing technology, especially mobile phones. The fact that a refurbished phone is up to 30 percent cheaper than an equivalent new phone stands out as one of the most important reasons for the increase in demand.
EasyCep Founding Partner and General Manager Mehmet Akif Özdemir said:
“We are pleased that the number of phone renewals is constantly increasing in our country. The share of refurbished phones in the used phone market has reached 5 percent, and we expect this rate to reach 30 percent by 2026.
As EasyCep, we are the market leader by renewing nearly 200 thousand electronic devices in just one year. While we increased the capacity of our renewal center in parallel with the increase in demand for refurbished phones in our country, as well as all over the world, we increased our employment by 54 percent by expanding our team.”
EasyCep, which continues to grow rapidly both online and physically, was awarded by entering the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Turkey list in third place. Recently, it was selected as the Growth Initiative of the Year as a result of the votes given within the scope of the StartupCentrum Entrepreneurship Ecosystem 2023 Awards.
It also covers districts across the country
EasyCep, which has opened 61 new stores since last year and met with consumers at a total of 161 physical locations, has taken a new initiative to expand its coverage area. Özdemir, “As EasyCep, we owe our success to the trust we have gained thanks to a transparency that leaves no “I wonder” in the mind of the consumer..
We are establishing a network that transforms the second-hand phone market in our country with our reliable services. In this network, which we call EasyCep Express, local phone dealers can provide device buying and selling services by joining the EasyCep Express network.
In this way, we are expanding our network and spreading the EasyCep service and renewed technology experience throughout the country, including districts with a population of 100 thousand and above. We developed a software product specifically for this and our first 40 EasyCep Express members joined the system. We will rapidly expand this network in the coming period.” he said.
Özdemir said: “Our users using our Sell at Your Door service in 2023 increased by 4.5 times compared to the previous year. With the same-day delivery feature in Istanbul, which we launched towards the end of the year, we provided thousands of customers with their new devices in less than 24 hours.
Thousands of consumers were introduced to our insurance and repair services from EasyCare and EasyFix for the first time. While approximately 15 thousand customers benefit from our complementary service, we have increased the number of users who secure their phones with EasyCare by 10 times.”
EasyCep, which introduces renewed technology to thousands of visitors of these markets thanks to its strategic business partnership with Migros and CarrefourSA, as well as its own stores, enables consumers to easily renew their devices with its application, which receives nearly 40 million visits annually and has been downloaded more than 300 thousand times.
Users who want to sell their old electronic devices can receive an instant offer by answering a few questions about the condition of their devices, and if they wish, they can deliver their device to the courier at their door and receive payment quickly. On the other hand, for those who want to buy refurbished electronic devices, more than 25 thousand different products are offered to consumers on EasyCep platforms, with information about their condition.
It also introduces refurbished electronic devices to Qatar and Azerbaijan.
EasyCep, which received a new investment from Fibabanka’s venture capital fund Finberg, one of the seed investors last year, expanded abroad with the aim of becoming a regional player in parallel with this potential.
“We first started operating in Qatar and made agreements with three retail giants of the country. We started our operations in Qatar by purchasing consumers’ old phones. By joining forces with the region’s leading retail brands, we offered a professional perspective to the renewed consumer electronics sector in the country. In addition to the 21 stores of Ooredoo, the country’s largest telecom operator, we also cooperate with Starlink, the electronic device and technical service supplier with the largest network in the country. In addition, Lulu Hypermarket, one of the largest hypermarket chain brands in the region operating in 10 countries including Qatar, adds strength to our Qatar operation.” EasyCep CEO Özdemir made the statement:,
“Our next stop was Azerbaijan. We entered the country in partnership with Azerconnect, one of the country’s leading communication brands. We provide service in 19 exclusive stores of the telecom operator Nar, located in Baku, the capital of the country, and Sumgayit and Khyrdalan, the other largest cities of the country. This month, we are opening our first premium experience and sales store in Azerbaijan, on May 28, one of the most popular streets of Baku. The Azerbaijani market for refurbished electronic devices is similar to Turkey’s 5 years ago. “We are excited to introduce Azerbaijani consumers to the benefits we offer to consumers in Turkey.” said.
Following these breakthroughs, EasyCep expects to obtain 5% of its turnover from foreign markets in 2024.
30 percent cheaper and very environmentally friendly
Underlining that the transformation economy model they created supports sustainability, Özdemir said: ““In today’s world where the effects of the climate crisis are critical, our business model, in which we increase the lifespan of electronic devices, supports sustainability both environmentally and economically.”
According to a global study, a refurbished iPhone 11 has a carbon footprint of approximately 15.7 kg. Compared to a new device that causes approximately 72 kg of carbon emissions, we see that a refurbished device is 78 percent more advantageous in carbon emissions. While water usage in renewed devices is around 1,695 liters, this means an 86 percent saving compared to a new device that requires more than 12 thousand liters of water.
Renewed electronic devices also provide significant savings in terms of electronic waste. Approximately 70 g of electronic waste is generated in mobile phones due to the replacement of defective or visually worn components. Compared to a new device with a total weight of 239 grams, the amount represents a 71 percent reduction in total electronic waste.
Pointing out that most of the mobile phones and electronic devices are imported, Özdemir said, “As EasyCep, by renewing the phones, we prevent imports and contribute to reducing our country’s foreign trade deficit. So far, we have renewed more than 400 thousand devices and brought them into the economy. He underlined their contribution to the economy with the words “We will continue to increase this contribution.”
The sector continues to grow in the world
While new smartphone sales worldwide dropped to the lowest level in the last 10 years last year, an increase of nearly 10 percent was recorded in refurbished and second-hand phones. The world used mobile phone market, which was at the level of 55 billion dollars in 2023, is predicted to be 62 billion dollars in 2024 and 172 billion dollars in 2033. However, despite one in four phones sold in the UK being refurbished or second-hand, markets new to the refurbishment industry hold significant potential.