“France is a very strong market, it is one of our two main markets. Depending on what you measure, it’s either No. 1 or No. 2,” competing with the United Kingdom, Adam Jay, general manager of Vinted’s marketplace, said Thursday. The manager did not wish to say whether France was number 1 in terms of users or business volume. In March, a study by the Joko shopping application based on the anonymized banking data of 700,000 people placed France as Vinted’s main market, with 23 million users at the end of 2023.
Explosion in 2016
Launched in France in 2013, the resale platform only exploded in 2016 when the economic model changed and selling on the platform became free, rewound Adam Jay in Paris, on the occasion of the presentation of the Second-hand Vinted Observatory. In France, the success was “extraordinary and rapid, due to the interest in fashion and sustainable consumption,” said the manager.
Since then, France has become a key market for the Lithuanian platform, with French sellers being “very connected, linked to buyers from many other countries, a total of seven. Success in France is crucial to building the European ecosystem”, Adam Jay even said.
Present in 22 countries
Currently, Vinted is present in 22 countries, and Adam Jay implied that the platform’s ambitions go beyond European borders. “Our mission is to make second-hand the first choice in the world,” he whispered, emphasizing the last word. However, he did not wish to elaborate.
Many associations accuse the Lithuanian giant of encouraging overconsumption, in particular because the prices charged are extremely low, the algorithm highlights certain products, and reductions are offered during group purchases. On this point, Adam Jay spoke of the virtues of second hand. “The most sustainable way to consume is to buy second-hand (…) Ultimately, our role is to ensure that each item produced has the longest possible life.”
Fast fashion
But is it really sustainable to buy “fast fashion”, commonplace on the platform? “We are not the producers, it is not our responsibility, it is the responsibility of regulators and legislators,” insists Adam Jay.
A report from the platform indicates that “emissions linked to deliveries represent 98% of Vinted’s total carbon footprint”.
“The overall impact of Vinted is extremely positive in terms of avoiding carbon emissions,” assures the manager. He believes that buying on Vinted prevents new goods from being produced and sent.
“It is clear that each second-hand purchase on Vinted does not necessarily replace a new item,” recognizes Mr. Jay. But, globally, 19% of Vinted members have stopped buying new as soon as possible, according to a study by the platform.
Adam Jay also highlighted Vinted’s measures to reduce the carbon footprint of its activity, such as encouraging customers to choose the deposit or relay point or even delivering by electric or bicycle, as in Paris.
