ITOCHU Announces Partnership with Belong and Google for Sales of Certified, Refurbished Google Devices

ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Keita Ishii, President & COO; hereinafter "ITOCHU") announced today that it has established a partnership with Google via Belong Inc. (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Daisuke Inoue, CEO; hereinafter "Belong"), a fully owned (including indirect ownership) subsidiary that operates an online retail business providing used mobile devices. The partnership marks the first launch of a certified, refurbished Google device business in Japan.

The used smartphone market is expanding, and the number of used smartphones sold in FY2023 reached a record 2.73 million (16.6% increase from the previous year). This is expected to reach the 4.38 million level in FY2028.^*1 In light of efficient use of resources and the reduction of waste, in addition to used products, certified refurbished products have been drawing attention in recent years. These products are available at relatively affordable prices with quality equivalent to brand-new devices because they have been refurbished using genuine replacement parts from the manufacturer.

Belong has, since its establishment in 2019, been operating online retail for used mobile devices, offering services such as Nicosuma Kaitori for buying used personal mobile devices and an online shop named Nicosuma. In terms of controlling the quality of the devices they carry, Belong has inspected and deleted data from several million devices annually using inspection and data deletion tools certified by an international data security validation body, etc.

On November 26, 2024, Nicosuma will begin sales of certified, refurbished Google device. These devices have been refurbished by repairers certified by Google^*2 and have passed the rigorous quality test conducted by Belong. With Belong's track record in the stable supply of high-quality devices and the partnership with Google, we will offer an environment that enables customers to feel secure about using certified, refurbished Google devices.

ITOCHU has put forth a new management policy, "The Brand-new Deal - Profit opportunities are shifting downstream -" and is pursuing a policy of enhancing its contribution to and engagement with the SDGs through business activities" while listening to all stakeholders, including the market, society, and consumers. We will create a new category of certified, refurbished products in addition to the existing choices in the smartphone market, new and used. By doing so, we will stimulate the reduction of waste related to electronic devices and the efficient use of resources and contribute to controlling the environmental impact.