Vinted
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Recommerce |
| Founded | 2008 |
| Founder | Milda Mitkutė and Justas Janauskas |
| Headquarters | Vilnius , Lithuania |
Key people | Thomas Plantenga (CEO) |
| Products | Used clothing and other products |
| Revenue | €371.4 million (2022)[1] |
Number of employees | 1242 (2022) |
| Website | www |
Vinted, UAB Group, commonly known as Vinted, is a Lithuanian online marketplace for buying, selling, and exchanging new or secondhand items, mainly clothing and accessories.[2]
History
[edit]Vinted was co-founded in 2008 by Milda Mitkutė and Justas Janauskas in Vilnius, Lithuania. Mitkutė was moving house and needed a way to sell her surplus clothes. This led to the creation of a website where users could trade their clothing items.
In 2012, Vinted partnered with Lemon Labs, a Lithuanian-based app development consultancy, to launch their mobile app.[3] In 2016, Dutch businessman Thomas Plantenga joined Vinted's management team as a strategy consultant and later became the CEO.[4]
In 2019, Vinted became Lithuania's first tech unicorn, raising €128 million at a €1 billion valuation in a round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners.[5] In October 2020, Vinted acquired United Wardrobe, a Dutch competitor.[6] In 2024, Vinted acquired Trendsales, a Danish competitor.[7]
As of June 2024, Vinted operates in twenty-one countries and has more than 65 million registered users.[8] In November 2024, the platform was valued at 5 billion Euros.[9]
Controversies
[edit]Since 2021, Vinted has been under scrutiny of data protection supervisory authorities (SA) from France, Lithuania and Poland, following numerous complaints about GDPR violations and shady user account blocking practices[10], which resulted in a €2,375,276 fine imposed by the Lithuanian SA in July 2024.[11] The dedicated Vinted working group, consisting of Dutch, French, Lithuanian and Polish SA and supported by the European Data Protection Board, became an example of close cross-border cooperation between national supervisory authorities in law enforcement.[12]
In 2024, some new users in Sweden were subject to fraud schemes in which their bank accounts were emptied. During the first quarter of the year there were about 300 police reports concerning fraud at Vinted. Comparable platforms had fewer police reports which, furthermore, were related to a less serious type of fraud.[13]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Vinted increased its revenue, optimised operations and continued active expansion last year", www.vinted.com, archived from the original on 27 November 2023, retrieved 25 October 2023
- ^ "The story behind Lithuanian secondhand marketplace Vinted". Tech.eu. 15 January 2015. Archived from the original on 9 June 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
- ^ "Vinted Case Study". Lemon Labs. Archived from the original on 30 July 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
- ^ Knowles, Kitty. "Step Into Vinted: The World's Largest Pre-Loved Fashion Marketplace". Forbes. Archived from the original on 14 August 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
- ^ "Lithuania crowns its first tech unicorn! Vinted, second-hand fashion marketplace, pockets €128 million and secures €1 billion valuation". 29 November 2019. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
- ^ "Second-hand fashion consolidation: Lithuanian unicorn Vinted acquires Dutch competitor United Wardrobe". Silicon Canals. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
- ^ "Vinted acquires Danish second-hand marketplace Trendsales". company.vinted.com. 5 March 2024. Archived from the original on 4 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
- ^ "About Vinted". Vinted. Archived from the original on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
- ^ [email protected]. "Second-hand platform Vinted increases valuation to 5 billion euros | Börsen-Zeitung". www.boersen-zeitung.de (in German). Retrieved 7 November 2024.
- ^ "Vinted platform's practices under scrutiny of supervisory authorities | European Data Protection Board". www.edpb.europa.eu. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
- ^ "Lithuanian SA: fine of € 2 385 276 on Vinted, UAB (company) | European Data Protection Board". www.edpb.europa.eu. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
- ^ "Vinted investigation signals closer and stronger cooperation between personal data protection supervisory authorities | European Data Protection Board". www.edpb.europa.eu. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
- ^ Tuvhag, Emmylou; Tärnhuvud, Anna (2 June 2024). "Blev lurade på Vinted – konto länsat: "Mardröm"" [Were fooled at Vinted – account emptied: ”Nightmare”]. Svenska Dagbladet.