Yaantra, an online marketplace for repair, refurb and resale of smartphones, registered a new high as they sold 500,000 units of refurbished smartphones in two year. The company has a turnover of over 100 cr making them a formidable leader in this market space.
Founded by Jayant Jha, Ankit Saraf and Anmol Gupta in 2013, the company has managed to change the perception of the second-hand mobile phone industry in the offline grey market, in India, by establishing an organized online marketplace. Yaantra started with an annual track of repair & refurb of approximately 8000 smart phones. Currently with a significant presence in all major cities, the brand has rapidly expanded its presence across India with a year-on-year growth of 600%.
The CEO and Co-founder of the company Mr. Jayant Jha commenting on this milestone, said, “The response that we got by selling refurbished smartphones is extremely positive and unbelievable. Along with affordability, the shorter upgrade cycles of smartphones these days is also fueling demand for used phones. It’s impractical for one to invest in a new phone every 6 months, thus innovative services that Yaantra provides gives consumers a lot of relief, as mobile phones have now become an integral part of their daily lives. The sale of half a million refurbished phones is a testimony to our understanding of the market. We are grateful for this response and hope to up these numbers in the next year.”
Recently they launched their doorstep repair service in Delhi-NCR, and have extended this service to Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai and other neighbouring areas. Through this service they aim to provide customers with a one-step solution for over 60% of the most common mobile phone related issues, such as broken screens, unresponsive mics and speakers etc., all in less than 2 – 4hrs, at the convenience of their doorstep. The company has slowly established itself as a one-stop shop for each phone related issue, accessible at the click of a button as well as at one’s doorstep. Hence, the hassle associated with these daily usage assets has been diminished significantly.
Additionally, millions of Indian users still buy second-hand phones because they would rather opt for a refurbished phone with features they need, rather than settle for a new phone with lower specifications. The massive inflow and outflow of refurbished gadgets helps them champion the cause of reduction of e-waste being a serious issue in the country
