ATRenew Touts Recycling Scale, 32% Revenue Growth and Bigger Trade-In Ambitions

ATRenew says it is the largest secondhand consumer electronics transactions and services platform in China, supporting close to 43 million used devices in full-year 2025 and expanding through more than 2,000 physical stores and multiple marketplace channels.

The company reported 32% year-over-year revenue growth in Q1 2026, with margin improvement driven by stronger operational efficiency and a rising mix of direct-to-consumer retail sales, which carry higher gross margins than wholesale.

Management sees room to grow through trade-in partnerships, automation, and new recycling categories such as luxury bags, watches, gold and accessories, while also returning cash to shareholders through buybacks and dividends under its 2025-2027 plan.

ATRenew NYSE: RERE outlined its recycling and trade-in strategy for investors at the 94th Emerging Growth Conference, with Head of Investor Relations Jessie Jin emphasizing the company’s scale in China’s secondhand consumer electronics market and its efforts to expand into additional categories and overseas circulation channels.

Jin described ATRenew as “the largest secondhand consumer electronic transactions and services platform in China.” She said the company supported the circulation of close to 43 million used devices in full-year 2025, with a small portion from overseas markets, and supported 10.8 million consumer goods devices in the first quarter of 2026.

The Shanghai-headquartered company began in 2011 with smartphone transactions in China and has since built an offline network of more than 2,000 physical stores, Jin said.

The stores operate under the AHS Recycle brand, which means “I love recycling” in Chinese, and are designed to give consumers easier access to recycling and trade-in services.

Jin said ATRenew’s operations are organized around four main offerings.

AHS Recycle serves consumers directly through stores and online channels, while also supporting trade-in programs with e-commerce platforms and consumer electronics brands.

Jin cited JD.com, Apple, Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo as partners in trade-in scenarios.

The company’s PJT Marketplace, launched in 2017, is a business-to-business marketplace for secondhand consumer electronics in China.

Jin said it serves about two million registered users and helps standardize nationwide transactions.

Paipai Marketplace, acquired from JD.com in 2019, supports business-to-consumer resale, while AHS Device is aimed at global circulation of used devices across regions including Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

Jin said ATRenew operates both a first-party model, in which it acquires used devices as inventory and resells them after inspection, grading and sometimes reconditioning, and a third-party model, in which it provides marketplace, inspection, consignment and after-sales services for commissions.

ATRenew has eight operation centers across China, including Hong Kong, according to Jin.

Two facilities, in Dongguan and Changzhou, are fully automated inspection centers used for grading and standardizing secondhand smartphones, tablets and other devices.

Jin said the company’s stores are typically small-format locations in high-traffic shopping malls, and she characterized the store network as a light-asset model.

The company is also using the stores to enter new recycling categories, including luxury bags, watches, gold and accessories.

Jin said those categories are operated under a third-party model, which means ATRenew charges commissions and does not take inventory risk, including exposure to gold price fluctuations.

Jin said ATRenew’s first-quarter 2026 reven...