The round valued the startup at $4.5 billion.

Vinted, a European startup that runs a marketplace for used clothing and home goods, announced its raise of $303 million at a valuation of $4.5 billion, post-money. That valuation is substantially up from $1 billion when Vinted raised money end-2019. (TechCrunch)

One cause for the surge in valuation is the pandemic, which forced people to remove clutter from the homes they were locked down in. Out of work people also looked to save money by buying necessities that had been pre-owned. Younger people these days are also more concerned about low prices and sustainability.

Vinted is simple, allowing people to upload their clothes or home goods for sale on the platform free of charge. If an item is sold, Vinted gets a cut for “buyer protection.”

The latest round was led by EQT Growth, with existing investors Accel, Burda Principal Investments, Insight Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Sprints Capital also participating. Vinted plans to use the funds to expand into new countries beyond the 13 that it already serves –  France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Luxembourg, UK, and the U.S.

It also plans to improve its services such as shipping and payments.

“Vinted is the perfect example of EQT Growth’s strategy of backing fast-growing European tech champions that tap into several macro trends, such as the increasing consumer demand for sustainability and continued penetration of online channels within fashion,” said EQT Growth Partner Carolina Brochado, in a statement.

Size of the opportunity

According to the FT, which quoted Boston Consulting Group, the global market for used clothing could be valued as high as $40 billion per year.

Further, this market had the potential to grow by 15-20% annually for the next five years or so and take a share as high as 25% of the aggregate fashion market.

However, in the eyes of Thomas Plantenga, Vinted’s chief executive, pre-owned clothing could grow to be as much as half of the total clothing market.

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