ControlZ, India’s premium renewed smartphone brand, has onboarded more than 1,000 dealers across the country, giving it India’s biggest distribution network for renewed devices. The company plans to grow to 3,000 authorised dealers by the end of the fiscal year, driven by demand from general-trade retailers and telecom distributors looking to add renewed devices to their counters.
The expansion tracks a clear shift in how Indians buy smartphones. According to Counterpoint Research, refurbished smartphone volumes in India grew 13% year-on-year in H1 2026, while new smartphone volumes declined by around 11% over the same period.
Counterpoint attributes the growth to rising smartphone prices, premiumisation, growing consumer acceptance, trade-in programmes and improving quality standards. For retailers, that shows up as a familiar moment: a customer who wants a flagship but stops at the price tag. Renewed devices help close that sale, and telecom distributors are adding the category to keep their volumes moving.
Trust has long been the barrier in this category, especially in offline retail. ControlZ has answered it by building its trade proposition around assurance rather than price. Every device is renewed at the company’s Renew Hub, an ISO Class 7 cleanroom facility that uses automated testing and renewal processes, and reaches the customer with 100% battery health and a 12-month warranty. After purchase, customers are supported by a network of 700+ service centres nationwide. Through ControlZ’s partnership with Bajaj Finance, buyers can also opt for no-cost EMI of up to 24 months, putting premium devices within reach at the counter.
Yug Bhatia, Founder & CEO, ControlZ, said, “Our dealers are telling us something simple: customers want a premium phone they can trust, and renewal is increasingly how they get it. India’s smartphone market has reached an inflection point, and renewed devices are becoming a mainstream growth line for retail. With the country’s biggest distribution network for renewed devices, 1,000+ dealers backed by 700+ service centres, we are giving the offline trade what it needs to sell with confidence: one standard of quality, a 12-month warranty and dependable after-sales service in every market we enter. Scaling to 3,000 authorised dealers is about taking that standard further, not diluting it.”
As it scales towards 3,000 authorised dealers, ControlZ is building on a simple conviction: industrial-grade renewal combined with deep physical distribution is what will make renewed smartphones a mainstream category across India’s general-trade ecosystem.
