“Today, renovation alone is no longer enough to live”: interview with Philippe Duchesne, CEO of Save

Sustainability index, European measures, economic development of the sector. In 2024, the volume of repairs will increase. And yet, the challenges faced by manufacturers in this sector are numerous. Philippe Duchesne, appointed CEO of the Save brand last year, is returning to the topic after his group recently gained independence.

DIGITAL: In 2022 you will open a “flagship” store on Wagram Street. In 2023 you are appointed CEO, in 2024 you announce that you will become an “independent” channel. It’s been an eventful few years for Save.

PHILIP DOUCHEN: The life of a company is never a long, quiet river. Our relationship with St. Petersburg was special. They sent us repairs, but also demanded extremely difficult commercial conditions. We had a mother-daughter relationship, but hey, you choose friends over family.

Before the transfer Jean-Marie Guian [aujourd’hui président et actionnaire exclusif de Save Group, ndlr.] I wanted to see a business project with a real financial balance. When I arrived at the beginning of 2023, we built it, he bought it and invested heavily.

We have numerous assets: real know-how recognized by phone manufacturers, as well as 130 sales points and workshops that occupy an average of 50 to 60 m². This allows us to store spare parts and tools. Unlike some of our colleagues who are prisoners of their surfaces.

As we saw in the Ademe report, public mistrust in the professionalism of repairers still exists. How can we go beyond this?

pH: People should come to the store first. That’s why we try to make our network look professional. The store must be clean so employees know what they are talking about.

It also develops remanufactured products. The fact that our refurbished phones come with a warranty is proof that we are confident in the quality of our services. Return rate [panne après réparation au bout d’un an, ndlr] is less than 0.7%.

There is also a problem with the proximity (or rather non-proximity) of repair shops. Save has about 130 stores in France. Do you think this is a satisfactory territorial coverage?

pH: Most French people live less than 30 km from a Save store. It’s not bad. We would like to reach 200 stores again. My vision for the chain of tomorrow will be ten “owned” stores that will serve as flagships for training our franchisees (technically, merchandising-wise, etc.).

Today, repairs alone are no longer enough to live. Our colleagues are not very prosperous. A good business is a third of insurance [le SAV pour certaines marques/boutiques, ndlr], one third with repairs and one third with fittings and local repairs. These three proposals complement each other perfectly and are necessary.

This means that today, if a customer comes to Save with a broken phone, they are told how much it will cost and how long it will take. We can also buy it back from him and offer him a refurbished phone with payment in ten installments and a guarantee. This is a completely CSR approach that suits everyone.

Have you noticed a change in mentality in recent years among your customers who are more willing to repair their products? Or, on the contrary, do we always repair too little?

pH: The reality is that phones are becoming more and more reliable. We have a very reliable indicator – data from insurers. 10 years ago, 7.67% of French people broke their phones. Today it is 2.5%. It is with infinite sadness that planned obsolescence does not apply to my corporation. Renovation was a thriving profession 10-15 years ago, but today we no longer make a living from it.

The phone market certainly reminds me of the used car market. Modern cars are stronger and safer. But their average prices have risen so much that no one can afford to buy a new car anymore. The phones are the same. A new phone is expensive, but a refurbished one costs on average 398 euros. Moreover, there is no longer such a large technological gap between different generations of phones.

We’ve seen government policies favoring renovation (notably the “renovation bonus” introduced in 2023), but they haven’t had much success. How do you explain this?

pH: Government initiatives are welcome, but there are a few developments that need to be taken into account. First, the general public needs to know about this. That there are marked shops nearby. In our country, for example, permits are obtained from shops, and this is difficult.

45% of my sites are approved by QualiRépar. Despite this, repairs covered by QualiRépar account for 2.9% of the total. This is less than 500 repairs in 2023. And yet, I believe that we are an operator that is serious. Our store in Wagram occupies an attractive area with a population of approximately 400,000 people. The premium for repairs is 2.7% of the volume for 2023. And these are informed people who read the press and radio.

So what is slowing down the development of this industry?

pH: The real issue is the cost of repairs. Fixers don’t make a fortune. I rarely saw a Bentley in front of our franchisees’ stores. But spare parts cost a fortune. Especially children or teenagers break their phones. They are not those who have the greatest purchasing power. When we ask them for 200 euros to repair the screen, it is far beyond their means.

Even with a repair bonus, the remaining cost is blocked. Most of the French population lives on less than 10 euros at the end of the month. If you don’t have money, it’s impossible to fix a cracked screen. Given the price and the fact that our phones have become irreplaceable these days, sometimes it’s easier to buy a refurbished one.

According to you, this is why the economic argument always takes precedence over the environmental argument.

pH: Ethics are encouraged as long as they do not require additional costs. Many people have many beliefs, but it shouldn’t cost them much. And this is understandable, given that period.

Do you think manufacturers are playing this game? That they provide spare parts at reasonable prices without making you wait too long?

pH: I’ve never had any difficulties with Apple, but with Samsung it’s more difficult. The Dutch plant does not always supply products to the Western European market. As for Chinese manufacturers, we see that they often think about selling their phones first, and then organize a supply chain for spare parts.

However, this is likely to evolve. Sales of new phones are declining, in part due to sales of used phones and market saturation. Spare parts are a good way to make money.