Why Rebuy CEO Philipp Gattner is pushing for a new law

As a provider of revalued products, Rebuy actually has it pretty good. But now the EU has postponed a law that the start-up had long hoped for.

For a long time, it looked as if Rebuy would be able to pop the champagne corks in November. But then the EU Commission announced that it would not be presenting its legislative proposal for a so-called "right to repair" until next year - and it is unclear exactly when.

Yet a Europe-wide law would be so important, says Rebuy CEO Philipp Gattner. After all, the regulations would probably massively strengthen the market for second-hand products. And that's exactly where Gattner's company is active.

Among other things, Rebuy buys electronic devices or media from private individuals, upgrades these devices - and then resells them at a higher price. "Grading," they call the process, in which they replace the broken screen on a smartphone, for example. And it's precisely this grading that has a problem: Because some manufacturers either don't stock spare parts - or don't want to work with Rebuy - they have to craft their own spare parts in the repair centers. While this often works very well, Gattner says, it is costly. "Many smartphones, for example, are glued together in such a way that they are very difficult to repair," the CEO explains.

Manufacturers should keep spare parts in stock

The EU law that has now been postponed is expected to bring about a major turnaround. Among other things, the EU wants to make it easier to repair products. It is not yet clear exactly what it will contain, but at least the EU Parliament's wish list is already long. Consumers are to be informed about the costs of replacement parts at the time of purchase and receive information on whether, for example, their new smartphone can be repaired at all. Independent repair shops should also be able to access manufacturers' product and repair information. In addition, the EU parliamentarians would like to see standardized spare parts made available for an appropriate period of time.

It is a legislative project that is intended to lead away from the throwaway society. The signs in Europe are pointing to a circular economy, and no longer just for plastic bottles, cans and building materials, but also for consumer and electronic goods. This is because the amount of waste generated worldwide is increasing year by year. The European law would be perfect for start-ups like Rebuy.

It is clear from the company itself that the issue of sustainability is already coming into sharper focus, at least among consumers. "Even when I joined Rebuy in 2015, circular economy was still a foreign word to many," Gattner recalls. "Back then, we were still referred to as online junk dealers - today, we are considered a pioneer of the circular economy. Yet we still do essentially the same thing - just everything two levels more professionally." For many years, for example, second-hand was seen as something slightly dirty, but now it's becoming a trendy topic, he says. When buying a car, it has long been normal to buy a used car, second-hand fashion is becoming more popular and expensive, used books are often already available in bookcases in big cities - so why shouldn't it work with many other goods? "We are benefiting greatly from the fact that all of this is becoming more and more of a trend topic," says Gattner.

Rebuy has ambitious goals

Rebuy now has 550 employees spread across five locations in Europe. By its own account, Rebuy was in the black for the first time in 2017, and sales are now said to be more than 180 million euros. The recommerce market, as the business with second-hand items is called, continues to grow.

Rebuy's plans are ambitious. "We are aiming for double-digit annual growth and increasing profitability," says Gattner. The last few years, he says, that has already worked out. Now the start-up is hoping for a tailwind from politics to take the next step. But for now, patience is the order of the day.

"Against the macroeconomic backdrop, i.e. the energy crisis, the tense supply chains and Russia's war in Ukraine, I can certainly understand that the EU Commission wants to give companies a bit of a break," says Gattner. Nevertheless, he seems a little disappointed. Because the EU shouldn't give companies too much time, he notes. "We shouldn't just look at the short-term effects of such regulation, already in the medium term such a law will help us all." After all, time is pressing in the fight against climate change. And both less discarded and constantly newly produced electronic devices could certainly help.

After all, even if it takes a while for the EU to introduce a right to repair, Gattner can still hope for the German government. The coalition agreement signed by the CDU/CSU states: "We will make the service life and reparability of a product a recognizable characteristic of the product's properties (right to repair). Since then, however, things have been pretty quiet on the subject in Berlin as well.