Online resale app Vinted is seeing a structural shift in consumer behaviour, as habits form around the resale economy, the company’s marketplace boss told CNBC on Monday.
Vinted, the consumer-to-consumer platform allowing customers to sell unwanted items like clothing, electronics, or even furniture, has seen rapid growth in recent years, boosted by consumers increasingly looking for value amid rising costs of living globally.
The value of items sold on Vinted grew nearly 50% last year, as it launched in more European markets.
“It’s a fundamental change in consumption towards second hand, and I think that is very much here to stay,” Adam Jay, CEO of Vinted Marketplace, told CNBC. “Vinted was growing well before the current economic difficulties, the cost of living crisis, inflation, and has continued to grow well in times of difficulty and stress.”
His comments come as Vinted in late April completed a secondary shares transaction of 880 million euros ($1.02 billion), valuing the Lithuanian startup at over $9 billion.
Vinted’s rapid growth and multi-billion dollar valuation have fueled intense speculation regarding a potential blockbuster IPO.
The company’s robust financial health also signals that it is under little pressure to list soon, as it is cash-positive and capable of raising nearly a billion euros in private capital.
Executives have hinted at an upcoming IPO but haven’t given a timeline. Jay said he was happy with the current investors, but declined to comment on the timing and location of a potential IPO.
The secondary transaction led by EQT brought on new investors such as Schroders Capital and BlackRock, and saw existing shareholders like Baillie Gifford increase their position.
It introduced “institutional, long-term investors that can hold across private and public markets, while providing liquidity to existing shareholders and employees,” Vinted said at the time. The company didn’t raise any new primary capital in this transaction.
Expanding beyond fashion and Europe
Online secondhand apparel is growing rapidly, and at twice the speed of the overall market, according to market research firm GlobalData.
The explosive growth is partially because the secondhand market represents a win-win for buyers and sellers, according to Jay. “You’ve got this habit being formed, you’ve got this big social impact, climate impact, and that… combines to be the Vinted equation.”
Vinted coined the term “Vinted math,” referring to consumers who view second hand as an easy and more affordable option, and consider the resale value when buying new items.
Vinted users saved 21.6 billion euros on fashion in 2025, compared to retail prices, paying on average 72% less than the original price, according to the company’s 2025 Impact Report.
Vinted is now trying to take that formula across the Atlantic as well as to new categories.
“It took us a long time before we decided to go beyond fashion, and we really needed to be confident that our fashion marketplace was working right across Europe,” said Jay.
“We were nervous because a lot of what our members tell us they love about Vinted is that it’s simple, it’s easy to use, it’s really clear how it works, and we were worried that we’d lose that as we started layering in other categories.”
Ultimately, it had enough signals to take the leap, such as feedback from users having been creative in selling non-fashion items even before Vinted officially expanded its categories beyond apparel.
LONDON, ENGLAND – JUNE 08: CEO of Vinted Marketplace Adam Jay speaks to delegates during an interview on day one of London Tech Week at Olympia on June 08, 2026 in London, England. Attracting the world’s leading tech companies including Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, and Google Cloud, London Tech Week brings together industry innovators, policymakers, and investors to discuss the latest breakthroughs in the world of tech. This year the Deep Tech Stage features innovations in the fields of space, robotics, sciences, quantum and AI. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Leon Neal | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Vinted is currently present in 26 countries, with France and the UK being the biggest markets. The company has had a presence in the U.S. since 2013, but it only earlier this year started being more active in marketing its product and trying to grow that market.
There’s an “enormous opportunity” in the U.S., but success could take “weeks, months, and maybe years,” Jay said.
It has historically been challenging for European tech and consumer companies to successfully bring their business models to the U.S.
One of the biggest challenges in taking on the U.S. market is high shipping costs, Jay said.
Vinted is also building out its shipping and payments infrastructure via Vinted Go and Vinted Pay. Its expansion into logistics, wallet infrastructure, and new markets is having an impact on the company’s bottom line.
Net profit declined by 19% in 2025 compared to the previous year. Even as revenue rose 38% to 1.1 billion euros. Its gross merchandise value (GMV) spiked 47% to 10.8 billion euros.
The platform also still has some way to go before it can compete with the likes of, for example eBay, which reported GMV of $79.6 billion in 2025. EBay also recently said it plans to buy fashion marketplace Depop from Etsy for about $1.2 billion to strengthen its fashion offering and attract a younger demographic.
“We’re here for the long term,” Jay said in response to a question of whether rapid expansion is the best use of capital for a company eyeing public markets. “We’re trying to make the investments, all of it is the unsexy stuff, make the unsexy investments that make secondhand first choice worldwide.”
