Nisha harshwal:-Overview of the company? What is the one thing that sets you apart from your competitors?
Mr.Soumitra Gupta:-Founded in 2015, Togofogo 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 nooks and corners 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 & the buyers have a place to shop for bargains and be rest assured on the quality of the products they purchase.
In a span of over 3 years, Togofogo has successfully established a customer base of over 4,00,000 and has sold close to 5 lakh refurbished smartphones. There is a repeat customer percentage of 24% which envisages the trust built by customers on the brand.
Togofogo is an integrated platform 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& 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.
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 (75points) in the industry and the best warranty cover which is provided in association with Warranty Bazaar. Secondly, we have our own refurbishment center (6,000 sq. ft.) aided by Aforeserve and associated entities. Unlike other e-commerce players, Togofogo is focused on doing business in a sustainable way to achieve profitability.
Nisha harshwal:-How did you come up with the idea and what was the Eureka moment?
Mr.Soumitra Gupta:-While I had envisioned that the market of Pre-owned Mobile in India will be one of the high potential markets in the industry a few years back, there was a huge gap in the market which stopped the growth of refurbished and second-hand phones in India. Becoming the first company to set the edge of authentication in a highly unorganized market, Togofogo has created an ecosystem where the sellers leverage the 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 on the quality of the products they purchase, hence strengthening the re-commerce industry in Mobile Category in India.
Nisha harshwal:-What are the trends that you see in the pre-owned smartphone market space?
Mr.Soumitra Gupta:-With an increasing awareness among consumers to reduce wastage, to re-use gadgets, emerged 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 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 re-selling commodities business, be it electronic items, vehicles, etc.
The Indian refurbished-and-used smartphone market has been on an upward trajectory for quite a while now. As more Indians in 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.
The growth of refurbished smartphone market has outpaced that of the new smartphone market in the year 2017. With many players now focusing on this segment, the market has still not reached saturation; there is an ever-growing demand for refurbished goods, owing to their aspirational value. These devices are offered at great discounts making them an easy buy for those looking for high-end and latest smartphones at cheaper prices. We are positive to have a lead in the market with our integrated platform serving as a ‘one-stop shop’ to customers providing an array of services including doorstep repairs and extended warranty.
Nisha harshwal:-Which are the most popular brands in the pre-owned market segment of your platform?
Mr.Soumitra Gupta:-The sales pattern is same as in the case of new handsets with Xiaomi, Apple and Samsung leading the pack. Their dominance is obvious in the refurbished smartphone market than in the new smartphone market. On our platform, the three brands together hold close to 65% of the refurbished smartphone category, with Apple leading by a significant margin.
Nisha harshwal:-What are your plans for the festive season?
Mr.Soumitra Gupta:-This festive season, we are going to provide one-year warranty to customers on all the products listed on the website. Apart from this there will be various discounts and cash back offered to prepaid customers on smartphones. We will also be conducting exciting contests and promos throughout the festive season.
Nisha harshwal:-What are the site’s USPs and how will it help the Indian consumers broaden its choice or strike a better deal?
Mr.Soumitra Gupta:-Togofogo is a one-stop-shop for its customers by providing an array of services starting from quality check, certification, providing warranty, post purchase repair-services, and Sell your phone program.
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 are associated with Aforeserve.com Ltd a 20-year-old company specializing in Repairs and Servicing.
Most of all, Togofogo is first of its kind platform which has strengthened the entire ecosystem of buying and selling of refurbished and pre-owned phones by offering all value propositions that authenticate the second-hand phone market. We have a fully integrated Logistics support to deliver to any location Pan-India unlike other players in the market whose transactions are location-bound.
