The constant pressure on household budgets is changing the way consumers buy clothes, and few companies are benefiting from this as much as Vinted.
The Lithuania-founded online marketplace has reported annual sales of €1.1 billion, up 38 percent on the previous year, as buyers increasingly swap the high street for used cars. Gross merchandise value, the total value of goods sold via the platform, rose by 47 percent to 10.8 billion euros, underlining the extent of the shift towards second-hand goods.
Founded in Vilnius in 2008 by Milda Mitkute and Justas Janauskas, Vinted came to the UK a decade ago and found huge traction during the pandemic. The UK is now the platform’s second-largest market after France, with more than 16 million registered users, a notable presence for a company that many mainstream consumers had barely heard of five years ago.
Much of this popularity comes from a simple commercial proposition: unlike eBay and Depop, Vinted doesn’t charge sellers commission. This model, which allows sellers to pocket every penny of their selling price, has attracted everyone from celebrity users like Paul Mescal, Ferne McCann and Alexa Chung to ordinary households who use the platform as a real source of income.
Additionally, the company has been busy expanding its offerings well beyond wardrobe clearance. Shoppers can now purchase computer games, books, tableware and records, while the category’s expansion to include sports equipment and collectibles opens up new revenue streams. The push into new territories, including Latvia, Estonia and Slovenia, has further expanded sales.
However, not all results contributed to pleasant reading. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization fell 5 percent to 151 million euros, while net profit fell 19 percent to 62 million euros. Vinted attributed the margin pressure to significant investments in Germany, where it faced strong local competition, and to the expansion of Vinted Go, its in-house logistics arm, into Portugal and Spain.
Launched in 2022 with a pilot of parcel lockers around Paris, Vinted Go now operates in five markets and has ambitions that go far beyond its parent platform. The division has begun handling deliveries for third-party retailers, positioning Vinted as a potential player in the broader European logistics market – a bold strategic bet that will take time to prove its worth.
The broader second-hand sector is consolidating rapidly. Depop, the vintage fashion favorite of Generation Z, recently switched from Etsy to eBay at a sizable discount, about $1.2 billion compared to the $1.6 billion Etsy paid in 2021. Vinted, meanwhile, has been on its own acquisition spree, buying Denmark’s Trendsales, Sweden’s Rebelle and the Netherlands’ United wardrobe to cement its position as Europe’s dominant resale marketplace.
For Britain’s growing army of second-hand sellers and bargain hunters, the message is clear: thrifting is not a fad. With household finances still under pressure and sustainability concerns lending moral weight to the trend, platforms like Vinted appear well positioned to continue growing, provided they can balance the costs of expansion against the profitability that investors will ultimately demand.
