Vinted Is Now France’s Biggest Retailer: How Does This Change the Future of Luxury?
France’s largest fashion retailer by volume today isn’t Chanel or Hermès, it’s Vinted.
What once would have been seen as a fringe platform for bargain hunters is now a dominant force in the heart of the global fashion industry. This is more than a surprising headline, it’s a cultural reset. When a secondhand marketplace overtakes the most iconic names in luxury fashion, it reflects a profound transformation in how society assigns value to what we own, what we wear, and how we choose to live. It signals the end of an era where fashion was defined by ownership and exclusivity, and marks the rise of a new paradigm driven by accessibility, sustainability, personal expression, and most of all, curation.
The Rise of Resale as a Cultural Movement
In the first quarter of 2025, Vinted officially became the leading fashion retailer in France by volume, surpassing even mass-market retailers like Kiabi and global platforms like Amazon. This isn’t just a matter of consumer preference, it’s a complete reordering of the fashion economy. Vinted’s 2024 revenue reached €813.4 million, up 36% from the previous year, and its net profit rose by a remarkable 330%, reaching €76.7 million. The global secondhand apparel market is projected to reach $367 billion by 2029, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10%. France plays a leading role in this shift, accounting for 26% of Europe’s secondhand fashion revenue in 2024, equivalent to €4.1 billion, a figure expected to climb to €6.3 billion by 2030. This isn’t a passing trend; it’s a structural change driven by financial pragmatism and a rising consciousness around sustainability.
The fact that Vinted has claimed the top spot in France, a country long regarded as the spiritual home of luxury fashion, is a powerful cultural statement.
The global secondhand market is projected to reach $367 billion by 2029, with France at the forefront of this movement. This isn’t a short-lived trend, it’s a structural shift in consumer behavior. Today’s shoppers are no longer obsessed with what’s new. Instead, they’re hunting for what’s meaningful, what tells a story, and what aligns with their personal values. Owning something that’s unique and carries a sense of history is becoming far more aspirational than owning the latest seasonal release. Vinted’s success isn’t just about price, it’s about philosophy. It represents a growing desire to live more consciously, to reduce waste, and to find satisfaction not in endless consumption but in thoughtful curation.
What Happens to Luxury in a Vinted Economy?
For decades, luxury brands thrived on the promise of exclusivity and the allure of the unattainable. But in a world where anyone can buy a designer piece secondhand, or find a nearly identical piece produced in the same factories, this model is under pressure like never before. The traditional signals of wealth and status are losing their power, and the fashion world’s storied houses must ask: How do you stay relevant in a world that values access over ownership and meaning over materialism?
A more uncomfortable question lingers beneath this: Does luxury even need or want to stay relevant to the average consumer? France’s broader population hasn’t been the primary revenue driver for luxury fashion in decades. Today, the focus is squarely on ultra-wealthy clients in the Middle East, China, and the U.S, markets where the appetite for high-end exclusivity is still thriving.
Perhaps luxury brands will continue along this path, serving the ultra-wealthy while becoming increasingly disconnected from cultural relevance among everyday consumers. But if they do, they risk losing the cultural capital that made them aspirational in the first place. Luxury isn’t disappearing, but it faces a clear choice: double down on exclusivity for the few or embrace new definitions of desirability centered around sustainability, authenticity, and emotional value. Brands that adapt to these changing values stand to thrive; those that don’t may find themselves admired for their past but irrelevant to the future. Brands like Sézane aren’t chasing the top end of the market, but instead are creating timeless, beautiful pieces that people want to keep, wear, and love for years. The conversation is no longer about “What’s expensive?” but “What’s worth it?”
The New Status Symbol: Conscious Consumption
This shift is also reflected in everyday purchasing habits. Approximately 30-40% of the French population now regularly purchases secondhand clothing. Among younger consumers, the movement is even stronger: one-third of those aged 18 to 24 have bought secondhand clothes in the past year, with 60% motivated by environmental concerns. What was once seen as necessity is now viewed as sophistication.
In this new reality, status is no longer about owning more, it’s about owning better. The carefully edited wardrobe, the cherished vintage find, the well-made piece that lasts season after season, these have become the ultimate indicators of taste and success. France’s embrace of Vinted signals that even in the birthplace of haute couture, people are ready to move beyond the outdated narratives of fashion. They are choosing clarity over clutter, meaning over materialism, and sustainability over status. For luxury brands, this is a defining moment. Ignore this cultural shift, and they risk becoming relics admired from a distance but disconnected from modern desire. Embrace it, and they may discover that true luxury in the future isn’t about being untouchable, it’s about being unforgettable.