By Helen Reid
LONDON (Reuters) -Vinted, an app where users buy and sell second-hand clothes, reported a 36% increase in revenue for 2024 on Tuesday and said it more than tripled its net profit, as more shoppers opt for cheaper used items instead of new.
Vinted has benefited as inflation-weary European consumers slashed their spending on clothing, and looked for new ways to make money by selling their own unwanted items.
Founded in Lithuania in 2008, Vinted reached profitability for the first time in 2023. It was valued at 5 billion euros ($5.69 billion) in a secondary share sale in October last year.
Vinted plans to expand into more countries in 2025, having launched in Croatia, Greece, and Ireland last year for a total of 22 markets in Europe.
Vinted started letting users buy and sell second-hand electronics on the platform in 2024, and said it would add more categories, though it is still mainly known for clothing.
Revenue for 2024 was 813.4 million euros ($925.89 million), up from 596.3 million euros in 2023, while net profit jumped 330% to 76.7 million euros.
Lithuania’s first “unicorn”, a term for a privately-held company with a valuation exceeding $1 billion, Vinted said it is launching an investment arm, Vinted Ventures, aimed at funding other second-hand retail startups.
Vinted Ventures will offer funding of between 500,000 euros and 10 million euros to Series A and Series C stage companies.
($1 = 0.8785 euros)
(Reporting by Helen Reid; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
