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According to a study by Hapidemix conducted for YesYes, more than one in four people in France (42%) have already purchased a refurbished product, a practice that increased by 20% between 2021 and 2022. Almost a quarter of this market is devoted to the reuse of household appliances.
Wanting to make used household appliances a new standard, Claire Breton, Laura Chavigny and Leah De Verkowski created the revamped Underdog brand in 2022. In her workshop, the startup takes care of diagnosing and repairing machines as well as selling them for half the price compared to new. The service also includes hardware delivery and installation with a two-year warranty.
In creating Underdog, we started from a simple observation: 25 million home appliances are thrown away every year in France, decries Claire Breton, co-founder and CEO of Underdog. The solution? Simply refurbish locally. With Underdog, we want to prove that it’s possible. Do it on a large scale.”
To do this, the startup raised €3.8m last week from Daphni (via Retail Dastore Fund), Sistafund, Tivoli, Leia Capital, Founders Future and several entrepreneurs. These funds will allow expanding the workshop, employing dozens of technicians, and acquiring several thousand devices to be refurbished, especially with regard to large home appliances.
