It's Back! OnBuy Acquires Iconic Comet Brand

For those of us old enough to remember, Comet was a high street electronics brand that sold everything from TVs and stereos to washing machines throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and early 2000s. Comet was a brand name from my childhood that I thought had disappeared — but now it's back in the mainstream.

OnBuy, a UK-based online marketplace, today announced its acquisition of the dormant Comet brand, with plans to relaunch it as a dedicated consumer electronics marketplace in Q4 2025. This strategic move, backed by an initial investment exceeding £10 million, aims to position OnBuy as a serious challenger in the UK’s £25 billion consumer electronics sector — a market currently dominated by long-established giants such as Amazon and Currys. The announcement is noteworthy not just because of Comet’s revival, but also because it brings OnBuy back into the spotlight.

While OnBuy has demonstrated impressive growth in recent years — including over £150 million in UK sales and £20 million in gross profits in 2024 — it's important to contextualise this performance against the entrenched market leader, Amazon. OnBuy’s reported 50% year-on-year growth is certainly strong, and its recent move into profitability in its European operations marks a significant milestone. However, in terms of sheer scale and market share in the UK and across Europe, OnBuy remains a much smaller player. The platform, while a growing "generalist" marketplace, reportedly receives significantly fewer monthly visits in the UK — often cited as having just around 2% of Amazon's UK traffic.

OnBuy has cultivated a reputation as a “British alternative” to Amazon, capitalising on shifting consumer sentiment away from US tech giants, partly driven by geopolitical factors. Its popular categories in the UK include home & garden, electronics, and health & beauty, where its competitive pricing and cashback offers are designed to attract value-conscious consumers.

The acquisition of Comet — a brand with a strong heritage in home appliances and consumer electronics — gives OnBuy an immediate boost in brand recognition within a specific, high-value segment. The success of the Comet relaunch will depend not only on OnBuy’s investment and technological capabilities but also on its ability to consistently deliver compelling value, a seamless customer experience, and a broad product range that can genuinely persuade consumers to change their established shopping habits on platforms like Amazon. This acquisition is a bold statement of intent — but the real test will be how effectively OnBuy can convert brand nostalgia into sustained market share in a highly competitive sector.