Leading Swedish e-commerce platform CDON has selected Finnish tech startup Renow to manage circular returns and resale of products for CDON and its merchants directly in a dedicated marketplace, redefining the recommerce category and reinforcing the company’s commitment to the circular economy.
CDON has entered a long-term partnership with Finnish recommerce startup Renow to inspect and resell returned products directly in CDON’s marketplace. The partnership aims to solve the logistical and operational challenges of open-box product returns while building the resale category that supports circular consumption and benefits both customers and merchants.
CDON’s marketplaces serve customers in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland, with its central logistics hub located in Sweden. With products being sold by merchants across Europe, managing returns is both a complex and sometimes expensive operation for the customer. With the introduction of Renow’s local logistical network, CDON will reduce the cost and time spent for its customers. At the same time, making them available to customers in a fast and cost-efficient way increases the lifecycle of returned products.
Renow and CDON aim to encourage circular returns in Scandinavia
For CDON’s merchants, the benefits are clear. Returned products can be resold locally instead of being shipped back to the country of origin, thereby reducing logistics costs. Customers gain value from a fast and easy return, while the merchant avoids a total loss. Through this process, CDON adds a new service layer that strengthens its relationships with merchants and enhances overall sustainability performance.
“We see recommerce as a natural next step for CDON and for e-commerce at large,” says Kattis Åström, CCO at CDON. “It’s about reducing waste, helping our merchants cut costs, and giving customers more affordable and sustainable choices. Renow brings the technology, infrastructure, and mindset needed to make this happen. We value partners who move fast, think long term, and share our focus on the customer experience.”
Reselling returned goods has historically been a slow and inefficient process, often resulting in bulk disposal or warehouse buildup. By integrating Renow’s AI-powered recommerce infrastructure and decentralized logistics network, CDON can now handle returned products locally, inspect and grade them using Renow’s technology, and resell them to consumers directly on its marketplaces – quickly, sustainably, and with full transparency on product quality.
Through the partnership, CDON’s resellable returns are processed and relisted in a recommerce category. Customers can purchase quality-verified, discounted products with buyer protection and fast delivery. Each product is inspected and graded by Renow’s AI system, which integrates directly with CDON’s customer service workflows to streamline the process from return to resale.
“For ecommerce platforms, returns are typically seen as a headache,” says Kalle Koutajoki, CEO and co-founder of Renow. “With CDON, we’re turning that challenge into a scalable circular model. Our platform helps process returns locally, reduces unnecessary transport and waste, and extends the life of products that still have plenty of value to offer.”
With circular commerce gaining traction and new EU regulations promoting more sustainable practices, the CDON-Renow partnership sets an example for the Nordic e-commerce ecosystem. It also signals a new opportunity for merchants across the region.
“Our goal is to make it easy for marketplaces and merchants to participate in recommerce without building everything from scratch. With CDON, we’re showing what’s possible. We’re ready to expand this model with other players in the region,” Koutajoki concludes.
CEO Kalle Koutajoki “For marketplace merchants that dropship products abroad it’s expensive to ship them back to the originating warehouse, especially if the item is large and difficult to move like a TV for instance. Also for less expensive products the cost of moving them back to original warehouse maybe high compared to the price of the product. With Renow’s tech, local inspection and warehousing we can bring all functioning products back to resale market quicker and with less costs, which extends lifecycle of returns.”
About Renow
Renow is an AI-based recommerce startup that has created a unique way to build marketplace supply. Renow disrupts the supply chain through virtual warehouses and a grading engine offered with a freemium model for retailers and 3PLs. For consumers, Renow offers high-quality 2nd-cycle products from top brands at discounted prices. Renow’s vision is to make recommerce mainstream and decrease waste.
About CDON
CDON Group is a leading marketplace operator in the Nordic region, owning and operating the online marketplaces CDON and Fyndiq. CDON Group is listed on Nasdaq First North Growth Market under the ticker CDON and is headquartered in Stockholm.
In 2023, CDON AB acquired Fyndiq, bringing the two platforms together under CDON Group. Fyndiq and CDON combine technical expertise, marketplace infrastructure, and customer reach – creating a comprehensive and complementary offering for both merchants and consumers. The Group’s vision is to unleash the power of the marketplace to provide the best shopping experience in the Nordics. As a technology company with a data-driven approach, it drives innovation in Nordic e-commerce through advanced solutions for marketing, sales, and logistics.
CDON was founded in 1999 in Malmö and is today the leading online marketplace in the Nordics. The company brings together over 1,500 selected retailers and brands with more than 2 million customers throughout the region – all with the ambition to help people easily find what they need while simplifying digital commerce for both retailers and consumers. CDON offers a wide range of products in consumer electronics, home goods, media, and much more.
Fyndiq was founded in 2009 in Stockholm by a group of Swedish entrepreneurs with the ambition to create an ‘online Ullared,’ the digital equivalent of Sweden’s famously large discount department store. Today, Fyndiq is available throughout the Nordics and offers approximately 15 million products from more than 1,000 retailers, while its selection continues to expand through partnerships with new suppliers. The fundamental idea behind the platform is to make it easy to find quality bargains, along with excellent customer service, to become Sweden’s leading marketplace for quality bargains.
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