The move comes as Phonecheck prepares to launch an AI-powered diagnostics and grading system that it claims will outperform anything currently available in the circular economy sector.

Garchay brings nearly 20 years’ experience scaling technology businesses across Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. His role will be to help transition Phonecheck from an established industry standard into a fully AI-led technology innovator.

The company is preparing to launch what it says will be the industry’s first fully automated vision AI product, capable of identifying cosmetic damage, screen defects and overall device condition without human intervention. Phonecheck believes the technology could mark a significant shift in how devices are inspected and graded at scale.

“I don’t change roles often,” Garchay said. “When I do, it’s because I see something exceptional. What Phonecheck is doing now is different. This isn’t a services company bolting AI onto an existing offer – it’s a technology company with a dominant market position, using that position to build something genuinely new. That combination is rare.

“I’m invested in Phonecheck’s success not just as a leader, but as a stakeholder. I’m incredibly optimistic about what we can build.”

Phonecheck CEO Chris Sabeti said Garchay’s appointment comes at a critical moment for the business.

“Harby is exactly the leader we need,” Sabeti said. “He knows how to scale, he knows how to execute, and he believes in the direction we’re heading. When the opportunity to work together came up, I didn’t hesitate.”

Sabeti said Phonecheck’s advantage lies in the sheer volume of data flowing through its platform.

“We’ve processed more device inspections than anyone else in the world,” he said. “That experience has given us data at scale, which has now become an AI advantage.”

Every device inspected feeds back into Phonecheck’s machine learning models, continuously improving accuracy and performance. The company believes it now holds the largest proprietary dataset in the device diagnostics sector, generated from millions of inspections and diagnostics carried out each year.

Device lifecycle firm BlackBelt Smartphone Defence has appointed Gary Pennington as its new head of business development for the UK and EU.

Pennington, who has 30 years of experience in the industry and has taken a variety of roles within distribution, was previously a sales director for Nutel Solutions.

Among other posts, he started his career as a sales manager for Orange.

At BlackBelt, Pennington will work on innovative projects to increase business while serving existing customers.

“I’m looking forward to bringing BlackBelt’s full portfolio to new and existing customers,” said Pennington.

“In recent times, we have seen huge growth in the used and refurbished market, and I’ve worked with many businesses that are seeing an increase in this area.

“BlackBelt has always been highly regarded as a leader in providing integrated solutions, streamlining processes and enabling the maximisation of profits, while decreasing e-waste globally through enhancing software automation.”

BlackBelt director Harby Garchay added: “Gary has a wealth of experience in the mobile industry. We feel he will help drive our products in years to come.”

The market for recycled phones can grow if the industry agrees on a universal grading system, according to speakers on the Refurbished Device panel at this year’s Mobile News XPO. 

CCS Insight director of consumer and connectivity Kester Mann moderated a packed-out, standing- room-only session. 

He was joined on stage by Mazuma Mobile MD Craig Smith, Bastion Insurance sales director John Fannon, Mobio Distribution founder Josh Harrison and Blackbelt MD Harby Garchay. 

In a recent CCS Insight survey of 1,000 people, 60 per cent of respondents said they would now consider buying a refurbished handset, with an estimated 2.6 million units sold last year in the UK. 

Nonetheless, those on the panel still believe there are ways to improve this market segment, most notably around the grading of devices. 

Universal grading 

“We need universal grading to come in,” said Smith, citing a number of companies that had graded their smartphones in different ways. 

“It would be good to see the industry as a collective come together and agree to a universal grading system. I think this will take the industry forward,” he said. 

Fannon, who noted an uptake in customers wanting insurance for used smartphones, added that it would be good to “get to a point where we can all agree on what a ‘Grade B’, for example, means – while an A grade should be indistinguishable from a new phone.” 

Harrison said that access to original parts from manufacturers is a barrier to this. “Many repairs are carried out by using aftermarket parts. Access to OEM parts is proving difficult or not possible. This is a potential barrier that stops people from buying used phones, as consumers question the quality of the parts being used.” 

Cost is a key reason why customers and businesses are considering recycled phones, he added. 

“Lack of innovation [in the latest devices] has been a major factor,” he said. “But cost has probably been an even bigger one now that we’ve got to a point where flagship models are more than £1,000 – a price point which is too much for most customers.” 

There has also been a growing acceptance that used kit is as reliable as a new phone, with Smith saying that there’s “less of a stigma now”. 

Fannon recognised that businesses were becoming more likely to opt for second-hand phones than previously before. 

“Cost is a huge part of it,” he said. “There’s now much more acceptance [among businesses in buying] these handsets. 

“It saves them money and there’s no disadvantage to buying a used phone, particularly in the B2B world.” 

Blackbelt’s Garchay said there were more assurances for consumers when buying used devices now. 

“People are getting better paperwork with used phone, which helps to give them confidence in what they’re buying.” 

The 5G effect 

During the 45-minute session, there was also a discussion on whether the growth of 5G would ultimately boost the recycled sector as users start trading in older phones to upgrade to the latest technology. 

“This will come with time. 5G is still fairly new, but I expect there could be a lot more demand as refurbished phones become cheaper,” said Fannon. 

Smith added: “I think 5G will affect the used market in some way, but it’s all dependent on the uptake in 5G, which has been pushed heavily by networks. We hope the demand for 5G is strong and therefore can spur the second-hand market to grow.” 

Smith also called for repairers and distributors to have easier access to official parts. 

“Having the ability to access the right parts to ensure there is a quality product is important,” he said. “There really needs to be a ‘right to repair’, even if the OEM manufacturers don’t want this.” 

The coronavirus outbreak is expected to bring widespread disruption to the mobile industry as Europe comes close to lockdown. 

And a number of key figures from the UK mobile industry anticipate a difficult period ahead, with CCS Insight reducing its global forecast for mobile shipments by nearly 200 million units to 1.65 billion phones for the year, a drop of nine per cent from last year. 

Distributor Westcoast expects to see less demand for handsets, according to head of mobile Darren Seward. 

“I personally think demand will be suppressed,” he said. “Buying a new phone will be the last thing that people are thinking about. 

However, Seward said there may be some short-term increase in demand for feature phones as companies look to equip their employees who will be working from home. 

In a statement, Data Select said the company has a “business continuity plan in the event of any significant disruption”, but warned that disruption should be expected if its warehouses are closed. 

The distributor said it had the stock for at least a month of business.

“In terms of stock availability, Data Select typically holds four to six weeks of stock and has the capacity to increase this using our extended warehouse capacity at our new facility in Theale. 

“We are working proactively with our carrier fleet to ensure that drivers making deliveries into our facilities minimise their contact with our staff (and ours with them) wherever possible.” 

Shutdowns 

At the time of writing, there had been more than 200,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) and over 8,000 deaths worldwide. 

The situation has led to shutdowns in many European countries, with last month’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona one of the earliest victims as the flagship mobile event was cancelled. 

IDC research analyst Raquel de Condado Marques said the disruption would have a big impact on the mobile industry. 

“In the short term, this will be a catastrophe for the mobile industry because supply and demand will be hit hard,” she said. 

“Supply and demand has been hit due to the initial closures of Chinese warehouses. We’re also expecting a delay in release of the iPhone SE2 and potentially on Apple’s new flagship later in the year.” 

IDC has also revised its forecast for spending on ICT this year, with predicted growth down
to 1.4 per cent from its initial estimate of 2.8 per cent. 

Repair impacts

The impacts of the outbreak will also be felt for mobile phone repair companies, according to Mobio Distribution founder Josh Harrison speaking at this year’s Mobile News XPO session on Refurbished Devices at the Hilton on Park Lane. 

He expects that customer’s will hold off getting their smartphones repaired while the virus remains prominent. 

“We’ve seen a slight downturn in volume and there’s a worry that repairs will be slower as the public worry about coronavirus,” said Harrison. 

“I don’t see people spending premium amounts on phones and I think phone repairs might take a back seat.” 

This was echoed by Blackbelt managing director Harby Garchay, who says people won’t be trading in old handsets – while Mazuma Mobile managing director Craig Smith has already encountered issues with orders. 

“We’ve noticed that certain parts that we have ordered haven’t yet arrived – plus we’ve had to make sure the well-being of our staff has been addressed, which we have done by scanning temperatures,” said Smith. 

However, one panellist downplayed any fears. 

Bastion Insurance sales director John Fannon said: “As we stand here today (March 12), it’s not had any noticeable impact on our business. 

“I wouldn’t expect the coronavirus to have much of an impact on the insurance industry.”