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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Sirin Kale

The Vinted phenomenon: how one woman sold her clothes – and created a billion-dollar company

Milda Mitkute sits on a wooden platform with her knees to her chest, smiling.
The founder of Vinted, Milda Mitkute: ‘Clothing was my expression.’ Photograph: JurijSi Photo/Malvina Stankute

When is a jumble sale also a billion-euro tech startup? When it has 500m items for sale and 105 million users.

I am in Vilnius, Lithuania, at the headquarters of Vinted, the slick, easy-to-use app where users can buy and sell secondhand clothes, shoes and gadgets. If you haven’t used Vinted yet, you certainly know someone who has. In the UK, it has an astonishing 16 million users – nearly one-quarter of the population – and is taking on more established rivals, including Depop and eBay.

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