Circular Economy: the real commitment of ADEO companies

“The circular economy is much more than just a simple concept. It’s an all-round approach that aims to prolong the useful life of products while reducing the environmental impact of companies”.

For ADEO companies, this transition involves a profound overhaul of product design methods as well as the transformation of traditional business models.
“In the long-term, all our companies will not only be retailers of new products, but also facilitators of sustainable solutions, including services such as rental, repairs and second hand products”, underlines Jean-Benoît.

This transition towards a circular economy is in line with a global context in which consumer expectations are changing and environmental regulations are becoming ever more stringent. In light of this, adopting circular solutions is often unavoidable in order to maintain purchasing power. ADEO initiated this change back in 2020, during the pandemic, in response to a growing demand for second hand products. “The rollout of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)* to all DIY retail chains in France in 2023 was a key factor in this transition”, he adds.

“For the past 100 years, our role has been to sell new products. Today, we must be able to adapt and be in a position to offer new products as much as rental and repair solutions, or refurbished and second hand goods”, says Jean-Benoît.

Implementing this transition has been a collaborative effort, with the involvement of all ADEO companies and the active participation of certain countries, in particular France, Spain and Italy. “Priorities have been set on product repairs, with the aim of providing customers with spare parts and assisting them by offering workshops so they can learn how to extend the useful life of their purchases”, explains Jean-Benoît.

The circular economy makes sense, as demonstrated by the concrete examples seen in ADEO companies:

• In Italy, tools from the Dexter range can be hired for 5 euros per day in the Leroy Merlin store in Milan. In fact, the most popular tool is the hammer drill, in an area where many buildings are made of reinforced concrete.
• In France, Leroy Merlin in Blois offers a number of solutions, such as rental, repairs and also the sale of second hand products.
• Finally, in Spain, items bought over the internet and returned in-store are recovered and sold as second hand goods.

“At the start, our business was about DIY and repairs, so it makes complete sense for all our retail brands to move toward a circular economy model”
Moving forward, our ambitions are clear: to reduce the share of new products in favour of circular solutions and play a key role in the creation of an ecosystem where all the players contribute to a more circular and sustainable economy. “We have done a lot of testing since 2020, so the next steps involve developing offers for repair, rental and second hand products, while exploring new areas of innovation”, he concludes.

The principle of *Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is simple: the product manufacturer, distributor or importer must take responsibility for its end of life.
Learn more about EPR

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ADEO is committed to giving its products a second life