Nostalgics still remember this cult brand, founded by Jean-Émile Rosenblum and Steve Rosenblum in the early 2000s. Quickly becoming a pioneering brand in e-commerce in France, Pixmania has left its mark on a whole generation of online buyers.A giant in consumer electronics, Pixmania had a turnover of one billion and 1,500 employees in the early 2000s,” remembers Jean-Émile Rosenblum, CEO of Pixmania.
“With our expertise in mobile reconditioned and owners of The Kase, a brand of mobile accessories, we said to ourselves that two elements were missing from the market, namely: a marketplace dedicated to the mobile world and payment facilities”, explains Jean-Émile Rosenblum.
A new version of Pixmania to promote the circular economy
The new version of Pixmania meets these two needs by offering the first marketplace that offers a new way of buying tech: more responsible and more accessible. “Today, you can sell your old mobile to Pixmania and its price is immediately deducted from the purchase of a new model. In addition, when you buy your new mobile, Pixmania also deducts a guaranteed trade-in price for the future, thus promoting thecircular economy. Added to this are payment facilities that we offer with four partners. A figure that tends to grow,” explains the CEO.
Pixmania thus intends to distinguish itself from its competitors by controlling the entire process, from the selection of new or used products to their reconditioning and resale.
Initially focused on mobile, the company now offers a range of technology products.It works for computers, for urban sliding, for Apple ranges, but also for game consoles.lists Jean-Emile Rosenblum. Today, our marketplace lists more than 220,000 products from 200 partner merchants, representing more than a thousand brands.”
The new marketplace also offers a wide range of services such as Pixtrade (purchase of used products), double trade-in and Pixcare (warranty service). “Everything is concentrated in a single sales basket”summarizes the CEO. In addition to its marketplace and thanks to its reconditioning laboratory, Pixmania can also buy back large volumes of telephones and spare parts. “We buy from telecommunications companies, wholesalers or second-hand players, to recondition the parts and mobiles before reselling them on different B2B, B2B2C etc. sales channels.”
A crowdfunding campaign to complete its fundraising
With a first round of 11.3 million euros in seed funding, which saw the participation of major figures in the sector such as Xavier Niel and the serial investor Pauline DuvalPixmania continues its momentum by closing a new round of financing of 11.3 million euros. This new fundraising, in which the Venture Capital fund participated in particular Breegashould enable it to pursue ambitious growth. To achieve this, Pixmania plans to invest in improving its product and service offering, in expanding its international network and in developing new technologies.
Bolstered by a turnover of 35 million euros for the year 2023, the half-fintech, half-greentech company also wishes to unearth new talents to strengthen its leading position in the refurbished technology market with a clear goal: to exceed 500,000 refurbished devices by 2026, i.e. nearly 12,000 tonnes of CO2 saved.
As part of this fundraising, Pixmania is also launching its first crowdfunding campaign on the Sowefund platform.
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