The Barooders market place, founded by Edwige Michau and Geoffroy d’Autichamp, completes an initial fundraising of 1.3 million euros, including 300,000 euros in debt, just five months after its launch. Dedicated to second-hand outdoor sports equipment, it convinced around twenty business angels, mostly e-commerce entrepreneurs, to participate in the round table. Anthony Bourbon (Feed), Thomas Rebaud (Meero) or Jérémy Accard (ManoMano), to name but a few, did not hesitate despite the youth of the project.
The inflationary context seems favorable to the sale of second-hand products. According to a study by Statista Global Consumer Survey (2021), half of French people say they have bought a second-hand item in the past twelve months. The search for savings tops the list of purchase motivations, but the desire to do something for the planet is gaining momentum.
Luxury, smartphone, jewellery… The market is growing with increasingly recent and sophisticated products offered for resale. There is no reason that nature sports items (mountaineering, hiking, kite surfing, etc.), which are generally quite expensive, should escape the trend.
A nascent second-hand market
The second-hand outdoor niche is in its infancy with, specifies Edwige Michau, “only 1% of the articles concerned which return to the circuit”. Knowing that around 250 million pieces of equipment of this type are purchased each year in Europe, the 28-year-old entrepreneur believes that a “boulevard” is opening up for platforms dedicated to the sale of second-hand sports equipment. by nature. This has not escaped Campsider and Everide, direct competitors.
Since its creation, Barooders has recorded “several hundred transactions”, primarily for technical clothing. The young shoot from Annecy also claims a community of more than 10,000 members and 20,000 ads previously verified remotely. The average basket reaches around 100 euros.
In the coming months, around ten employees should join the team to participate in the two priority projects: the imminent launch of a mobile application and the start of the “physical” inspection of objects. In the longer term, a hybrid model is emerging, between Vinted and Backmarket.
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