Wellbots CEO Philippe Berdugo Sees More Growth Ahead in Smart Products

Philippe Berdugo is one of the minds behind Wellbots, a leading smart products retail platform. The platform sells a wide range of smart products, from pool cleaners, to smart scooters.

Unlike many entrants to the smart products space, Berdugo saw the potential for the sector as early as 2013, when Wellbots was founded. Smart products are entering more areas of daily life, not only in personal life, but also in the professional world. As a leading retailer of numerous smart products, Wellbots has to stay on top of market trends. Wellbots offers large discounts to schools, universities, hospitals and other corporate clients.

Grit Daily had the opportunity to ask Berdugo about the success of Wellbots, as well as where he sees the space going in the future.

GD: You were an early mover in the smart products space. Why did you see potential in smart products so early?

Philippe: Growing up, I always had an interest in technology and the most innovative products on the market. It was hard to ignore how popular new forms of technology were at the beginning of the last decade. Smartphones were just starting to become a common consumer item, and I saw that the same kind of smart technology could be applied to numerous other everyday items. The founding of Wellbots made sense to me, as I thought there would be a huge opportunity for any company that could make connections in the smart products sector, and offer competitive prices on great new products. As I grew Wellbots, I realized the company was ideally positioned to issue a ranking of the best 25 smart products on the market. It has since become the Annual Wellbots Ranking and includes the best robot vacuums, electric scooters, smartwatches, drones, air purifiers and more.

GD: How do you see the role of data in the smart economy?

Philippe: Data is at the center of the modern economy. It is a highly-coveted skill and asset to be able to leverage data to make business decisions. Companies large and small are fighting to get more data on their (potential) customers’ behaviors and interests. It allows companies to be much smarter at marketing their products, reaching out to the right people to grow their business. At the same time, data collection has become a growing concern for many because of its impact on privacy.

In addition, smart products are now able to connect and communicate with other products to make our lives easier. That is what has been coined the Internet-of-Things, which heavily relies on data and is expected to be one of the fastest-growing industries in the coming decade.

GD: Can you tell us more about how Wellbots has been such a success in a competitive marketplace?

Philippe: At Wellbots, we curate the best products in each category of smart products. We pride ourselves on only selling the best. We are not generalists, we are experts in the space. The Wellbots Brand Partnership team carefully vets the best products such as drones, robotic pool cleaners, connected toys, portable power stations, electric bikes and more. There is a thorough selection process for a brand to make it to Wellbots.

Our team knows all the products we sell: customers call us and live chat with us every day. We are known for our white-glove customer service and offering innovative & pioneering features such as:

Pay with crypto

The Wellbots VIP Program

Free Shipping on Everything

2% Cashback Loyalty Program

Extended 2 or 3-year warranties

The Special Wellbots Bundles

GD: Can you tell us a little more about the bulk buying program that Wellbots offers?

Philippe: The bulk buying program at Wellbots offers discounted quotes to business customers placing large orders. The B2B team members are always available to answer any questions business customers may have: our team has been carefully trained and educated on the technicalities and functionalities of all the products we sell. Our goal is to make the process as seamless, enjoyable and efficient as possible.

Some of our business customers include local police departments, fire stations, coast line guards and government agencies, private/corporate campuses and buildings, hotels, amusement parks, hospitals, universities among others.

Philippe Berdugo graduated from ESSEC Business School in France and also the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. Wellbots offers its products in both the USA and France, and was featured by the Financial Times of London in 2021 on its list of the 500 Fastest-Growing Companies in the Americas. It ranked #7 in the ecommerce section of the 500 companies, as at #122 across the entire group. Berdugo is also a co-founder of Berd Industries, an investment firm that focuses on real estate and a director at TP NYC, which is a real estate investment firm.