“People want something that lasts them a long time, that is quality, that is useful,” says Google senior director Alexander Kuscher. “Eventually, when it breaks or when you lose it, you get a new one because you feel taken care of. So I think that builds trust, and the trust is important.”
Flex started as an enterprise service for businesses; Google offered companies worried about security vulnerabilities on aging hardware a way to easily update to a more secure operating system. Or, at least, one that still received updates. After a while, other users started to get ahold of the software, downloading and installing it on their own USB sticks for their personal machines. “We didn’t make it particularly easy at the time,” Kuscher says. “But people did it.”
What led to the more consumer-oriented push of ChromeOS Flex—like this partnership with Back Market—was the end of software support for Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating system last fall. While the OS still technically works, it stopped receiving security updates, and Microsoft has encouraged users to update to Windows 11. But Windows 11 has specific hardware requirements, and it may not be a simple upgrade on certain machines. Google saw this as a moment to provide a cheaper alternative to the “Windows 10 cliff,” as Kuscher puts it. Back Market agreed.
“Ultimately, [Microsoft is] saying that people need to throw away their existing laptop to buy another one,” Hug de Larauze says. “And we say politely, no.”
If you’re tech-savvy, you can forgo Back Market’s $3 stick and download ChromeOS Flex onto a USB drive you have lying around right now.
Buying Refurb
Back Market has done very well for itself despite economic turmoil. As devices become more expensive, people turn to cheaper, refurbished options. He compares the device market to the auto industry.
“Ninety percent of cars are being sold pre-owned,” Hug de Larauze says. “The new normal is to purchase them pre-owned because it’s almost dumb to buy a new one.”
When US president Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs last year, Hug de Larauze says Back Market sales tripled afterwards. Even after the dust settled a little and it became clear that tariffs would not directly affect smartphones or computers, Hug de Larauze says sales stayed around twice what they’d been before. Back Market made $3.8 billion in 2025, making the company profitable for the first time. While Hug de Larauze says these kinds of economic fluctuations may be good for sending more people to Back Market, he hopes it will shift buyer mindsets to buying refurbished tech writ large.
“We have one planet, and resources are limited,” Hug de Larauze says. “We need to do more with what we already have in every sector. Fashion is the same, transportation is the same, energy is the same, it’s the same for everything.”