Business

David Hirsch, TechMarkit

If you’re walking around Rosebank Mall in Johannesburg, you'll come across the TechMarkit technology store. It's slick and modern, similar in style to other trendy device stores, yet with a notable difference. There aren't rows of the latest and most expensive flagship products. Instead, the shelves feature slightly older yet much more affordable devices looking for a second chance. The store is one of two operating in Gauteng (the second is in Menlyn Park Shopping Centre), and is part of David Hirsch's ambition to make refurbished electronics more accessible to South Africans while removing the risks and stigma associated with second-hand devices.

“We're trying to make this credible – I always say attractive – and create awareness,” says Hirsch, TechMarkit's CEO and a respected tech retail executive whose previous roles include helping launch Incredible Connection. TechMarkit also sells devices online and is one of a number of local companies that deal in refurbished electronics. These are laptops, PCs, phones, tablets, screens, and peripherals that have been refreshed or repaired, tested, and reissued with new warranties. Refurbished devices offer affordable electronics that can cost half the price of newer devices, a small but growing sector that is outpacing the growth of the larger new device market.