Togofogo aims to capture offline market share within a year

Aimimg at transforming the offline market of refurbished and pre-owned phones, Togofogo plans to open over 100 retail stores in the next two years. In order to carve a niche in the market, Togofogo believes in delivering a superior customer experience and satisfaction. In a chat with VARINDIA, Soumitra Gupta, CEO, Togofogo, sketches the importance of the company, highlights about its services, the offline market scenario, USP of the channel and its future plans -

Overview of the Company

Founded in 2015, Togofogo.com is India’s most-trusted online marketplace for buying and selling pre-owned phones and tablets. Togofogo has been acknowledged as the strongest player for extending best quality and certification on box open, refurbished and pre-owned phones to its customers, due to its integration with qutrust.com. The company also ensures best customer service through its tie-up with Aforeserve, which has its extensive network of 300+ offline service stations across every nook and corner of the country.

Togofogo has a network of over 150 sellers that list mobiles of more than 20 brands on the Togofogo website. Leading brands like Samsung, Apple, BlackBerry, Sony, Asus and Xiaomi, among others, are also featured on the company’s website.

The company aims at transforming the offline grey market of refurbished devices, organized. With its distinguished online platform, the sellers leverage Togofogo’s integrated logistics support to open up pan-India market in no time and the buyers have a place to shop for bargains and be rest assured about the quality of the products they purchase.

Togofogo.com has established a customer base of over 3,00,000 in a span of 3 years and has sold close to 3,50,000 products. There is a repeat customer percentage of 24% which envisages the trust built by customers on the on the brand.

Togofogo is a one-stop shop for its customers as it provides an array of services to them right from the quality check and certification of products to provide an option to buy a 1-year warranty on refurbished and pre-owned phones through Warranty Bazaar, and also providing them with post-purchase repair services. This is a clear differentiator for Togofogo in the market.

Can you please highlight all the services in details like Repair, Warranty?

Togofogo is a one-stop shop for its customers as it provides an array of services to them right from the quality check, warranty and certification of products.

In order to carve a niche in the market, Togofogo believes in delivering a superior customers experience and satisfaction. To achieve the same, we provide additional services to our customers unlike other players in the market. These include: Certification of pre-owned & refurbished devices, additional one-year warranty, and hassle-free phone repair services at the customer’s doorstep.

Certification: Togofogo has been acknowledged as the strongest player for extending best quality and certification on box open, refurbished and pre-owned phones to its customers, due to its integration with qutrust.com.

Warranty: Togofogo provides an option to buy a 1-year warranty on refurbished and pre-owned phones through Warranty Bazaar, and also providing them with post-purchase repair services.

Repair Service: The company also ensures best customer service through its tie-up with Aforeserve, which has the largest service networks. The refurbished items' list includes factory (seconds) to e-commerce/retail returns and open box products, aside from only secondhand-and-repaired products.

You are planning to launch Sell you Phone services on your platform. Could you please provide the details?

Earlier, we only bought the used and refurbished phones from dealers and business customers. However, with this integration, any individual can now sell their old phone on our website. Under this program, one has to provide certain information like Model name, IMEI number, and condition of the device. Togofogo uses Scientific Algorithms like device spin test, battery spin test, screen test, etc, to quote the best price for the device. Post the online evaluation, Togofogo provides a pick-and-drop service at the customer’s doorstep to facilitate physical evaluation and sale of the device. Through this, we are providing a brilliant opportunity to encash used and old phones into new phones as the customer no longer has to search and wait for a potential buyer or settle for a price less than what the customer deserves. In this highly scattered market, Togofogo aims to create a trusted platform where customers can sell their old devices at the best possible price.

Are you planning to tap offline market as well. If yes, what are the geographies you will be targeting?

Togofogo plans to open over 100 retail stores in the next two years. In the initial stage of expansion, we will be focusing on the northern part of the country. We aim to reach out to the last-mile customers by creating offline experience centers. With this, we are considering tier-1 and tier-2 cities for offline expansion this year and will evaluate foraying into smaller cities next year, based on the rollout and performance of these offline stores.

How many offline stores are you planning to open and what is the market share you are aiming to target?

We are planning to open 100-plus retail stores by 2020 with an aim to capture 5%–7% market share in the offline market within a year. By opening these retail stores, we plan to weed out inefficiencies, lack of certified products in the market, and under or overvaluation of pre-owned mobile phones. The refurbished market became the fastest-growing smartphone segment in 2017 with the majority of sales being made through the unorganized players in the offline market. However, with the demand for refurbished or second and smartphones predicted to grow by up to 27% in the coming two years, Togofogo leaves no stone unturned to significantly capture the offline market through an organized channel.

Please share the vision of your company?

Being the first company to set the edge of authentication in a highly unorganized market, Togofogo.com has created an ecosystem where the seller's leverage company’s integrated logistics support to open up pan-India market in no time. While the buyers have a place to shop refurbished/used phones and be rest assured about the quality of the products they purchase, thereby strengthening the recommence industry in the mobile category in India.

In India, millions of users still buy secondhand phones because they would rather use a pre-owned phone with the features they need than settle for a new phone with lower specs. Along with affordability, the shorter upgrade cycles of smartphones these days are also fuelling a demand for used phones.

What is the USP of the brand which sets you apart from your competition?

We are different from our competitors in many ways. The key differentiator, however, is that we ensure the highest quality with the maximum number of quality checks in the industry and the best warranty cover which is provided in association with Warranty Bazaar. Secondly, we have our own refurbishment center aided by Aforeserve and associated entities. Unlike other e-commerce players, Togofogo is focused on doing business in a sustainable way to achieve profitability.

What are the future plans?

The future plans are based on our core vision, aiming to transform the market and fill the existing gaps. Moving forward, Togofogo plans to foray into the refurbished laptops market in India. Having established a strong foothold in the metro cities, Togofogo now aims to capture the market for refurbished and pre-owned smartphones in the tier-1 and tier-2 cities this year. We will replicate the same business model as that of the mobiles category – Togofogo will facilitate the buying and selling of old devices as well as providing repair and certification for these devices.

Can you please tell us how recommerce industry is shaping in India?

With an increasing awareness among consumers to reduce wastage, to reuse gadgets, there was a dire need for an appropriate platform to allow the selling and buying of smart gadgets which are still in perfect condition.

This is where recommerce or reverse commerce comes into the picture for the tech-savvy consumers of today who are making smart buying decisions. The industry is booming just like any other reselling commodities business, be it electronic items, vehicles or even golfing equipment.

A smartphone is still an aspirational product for many in India. It is connotative of a specific lifestyle, one that is in tune with the digital, information age. As more and more Indians in the tier-2 and tier-3 cities get access to the internet and more companies enter the market, sales of refurbished smartphones in India are expected to grow at a compound rate of 27% over the next two years. Recommerce appeals to the aspirational and value-conscious nature of the Indian consumer. The feeling of status elevation by using a better-quality brand or product at a reasonable price point is helping this segment grow. Even more so, a large number of first-time buyers, students, and technophiles who want to upgrade their gadgets find great value in refurbished smartphones. Considering the growth of recommerce in India going forward, it seems inevitable that companies focused on recommerce will emerge.

What are the market dynamics and business trends?

As per a Deloitte report, the growth rate of the used smartphone market is forecast to be 4-5 times higher than the overall smartphone market. Around 12 million refurbished smartphone units were sold in India in 2017 alone. World's biggest smartphone manufacturers Apple and Samsung accounted for around 33 per cent of these sales, says Counterpoint Technology Market Research. In volume terms, the segment grew 25 per cent in India as compared to 13 per cent across the globe. The growth of organized retail and e-commerce is propelling the market for used and pre-owned electronic devices. With the growing popularity of recommerce among end-consumers going after the almost-new, the industry shows tremendous potential to organize this unorganized sector.