Vinted CEO Thomas Plantenga: ‘Vinted is not a company that’s going to exit’

Secondhand marketplace Vinted needs little introduction, with tens of millions registered users around the world who use its app to sell everything from clothes to furniture to even lava lamps.

But the (profitable) company is swiftly becoming far more than a marketplace: it also has its own shipping infrastructure, a payments business and — as of recently — a venture arm.

Despite that, CEO Thomas Plantenga is far from complacent: “If we really want to make secondhand first choice, then everything that we have needs to be a lot better.”

“The only thing that protects you is if you consistently improve what you have, because if you don’t, somebody’s going to see an opportunity to do things better than you do. And if somebody else is delivering more value to users than you, then you don’t deserve the position you’re in.”

In this week’s episode of the Sifted podcast, host Amy asks Thomas what’s next for Vinted, how does it plan to stay three steps ahead of the pack and what are its exit plans.

Key moments: 

2:53 - Vinted's key businesses

4.00 - Vinted's userbase

7.30 - Secondhand market globally 

9.00 - How can Vinted improve?

13.00 - About the logistics business

18.14 - About the payments business

25.06 - Thomas' stance on competition

27.30 - About Vinted Ventures

31.03 - M&A strategy 

33.26 - What does Vinted Ventures wants to invest in?

35.24 - What could go wrong at Vinted?

38.18 - Advice for CEOs

41.09 - Vinted's exit