De Kringwinkel
De Kringwinkel is a Flemish non-profit operating 140 second-hand retail stores, 155 donation points, an online webshop, and a live auction platform, serving individual consumers across Flanders with donated and repaired books, clothing, electronics, and furniture while employing 6,482 people facing barriers to work.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1991
- HeadquartersGent, Belgium
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What De Kringwinkel does
De Kringwinkel, legally Kringwinkel Groep vzw, is a Belgian non-profit association headquartered in Ghent that operates a regionally scaled second-hand goods retail and circular-economy platform across Flanders. The organization runs 140 physical Kringwinkel stores, 155 Geefpunten (donation points), and clothing containers, complemented by free pickup services, household-clearing services, and a live online auction platform; in June 2026 it added an online webshop. The customer base is overwhelmingly individual Flemish consumers purchasing books, clothing, electronics, furniture, and home goods, with a secondary B2B stream (Reloved) for corporate furniture and equipment remarketing.
The operating model is community-led and donation-supplied: goods enter the network through Geefpunten, clothing containers, free home pickups, and household-clearance jobs, then flow through repair services (for electronics and clothing) before reaching retail stores, the webshop, or the auction platform. Pricing is unit-based per individual second-hand item with no subscription tiers; gift cards (cadeaubonnen) are sold as a separate retail product. Revenue streams therefore span physical retail sales, webshop sales, auction proceeds, gift card sales, and B2B transaction fees. The technology stack is a standard e-commerce frontend with a live bidding system and SSO integrations with Microsoft, Google, and Facebook; no proprietary AI/ML capabilities are disclosed.
The economic engine is explicitly dual-purpose: commercial activity subsidizes a social mission of providing employment to people facing barriers to traditional work, with 6,482 social employment positions supported and 93,700 tons of goods collected annually. As a non-profit (vzw) with no parent company, no disclosed funding rounds, and no public shareholders, De Kringwinkel is funded through operational revenue rather than external capital, and reinvests into network expansion and renovation of physical locations.
De Kringwinkel firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- De Kringwinkel
- Legal name
- Kringwinkel Groep vzw
- Website
- https://dekringwinkel.be
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1991
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- De Kringwinkel is a Flemish non-profit operating 140 second-hand retail stores, 155 donation points, an online webshop, and a live auction platform, serving individual consumers across Flanders with donated and repaired books, clothing, electronics, and furniture while employing 6,482 people facing barriers to work.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
De Kringwinkel industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Second-hand Retail
- NAICS
- Used Merchandise Retailers (459510)
- SIC
- Retail-Misc General Merchandise Stores (5399)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Peer-to-Peer (C2C) Resale Marketplaces (CRAFAGAM)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- C2C Resale, Auctions & Secondhand Marketplaces (BPAMAGAE)
Keywords
Where De Kringwinkel is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Gent
- HQ country
- Belgium
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
De Kringwinkel business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Retail Sales - Physical Stores: Sale of second-hand goods through 140 physical Kringwinkel stores across Flanders, Belgium. Revenue generated from sale of donated items including books, clothing, electronics, furniture, and home goods.
- E-commerce Sales: Online sales through the Kringwinkel webshop for books, clothing, and electronics. Items are shipped to customers who browse and purchase online.
- Auction Revenue: Live auction platform where customers bid on second-hand items. Revenue generated from sale of auctioned goods.
- Gift Cards: Sale of gift cards (cadeaubonnen) for use across all Kringwinkel stores and webshop.
- B2B Services (Reloved): Business-to-business services under the Reloved brand, including corporate furniture and equipment remarketing solutions.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Individual second-hand item pricing |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels7 records
Marketing channels3 records
De Kringwinkel product offering
Product offeringCore offering
De Kringwinkel operates 140 physical second-hand retail stores across Flanders, Belgium, selling donated items including books, clothing, electronics, furniture, and home goods. The retail network is complemented by an online webshop, a live auction platform for second-hand items, 155 donation points, clothing containers, free home pickup services, household clearing services, electronics and clothing repair services, and a B2B corporate remarketing sub-brand called Reloved.
Product overview
De Kringwinkel is a second-hand retail network consisting of 140 physical stores across Belgium plus an online webshop and live auction platform. The offering is a unified platform combining physical retail, e-commerce (Webshop), and digital auctions (Veiling), supported by a network of 155 Geefpunts for donations, clothing containers, free pickup services, and professional clearing/cleanup services. The core products span multiple categories: books (Boeken), clothing (Kleding), and electronics (Elektronica) sold both in-store and online. Additional services include repair workshops for electronics and clothing, guided tours, gift cards (Cadeaubon), and the B2B brand Reloved for commercial clients. The company also partners with Recupel for electronic waste collection.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Cadeaubon (Gift Cards) Gift cards (Kringaubon) redeemable across all Kringwinkel physical stores and the online webshop, marketed as a sustainable and local gift option.
- Herstellen van elektro (Electronics Repair) Repair service that extends the usable life of second-hand electrical appliances before resale.
- Herstellen van kleding (Clothing Repair) Repair service that mends second-hand clothing to extend usability and support sustainable fashion.
- Ophalingen (Free Home Pickup) Free pickup service where customers book an appointment with their local Kringwinkel to have items collected directly from their home.
- Inboedel opruimen (Household Clearing) Professional service to help customers clear out entire households, managing the disposal and redistribution of household goods.
- Veiling (Live Auction Platform) Real-time online auction platform where customers bid on second-hand items including books, electronics, clothing, kitchenware, art, furniture, and hobby items.
- Reloved (B2B Corporate Remarketing) Business-to-business service under the Reloved sub-brand that enables companies to sustainably dispose of and remarket surplus furniture and equipment through the Kringwinkel network.
Quantifiable outcome
- 93,700 tons per year of goods collected and diverted from waste
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use De Kringwinkel
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
De Kringwinkel technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Feature2 records
De Kringwinkel partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- RecupelRecupel is a collection partner for electronics recycling. Kringwinkel serves as an official Recupel collection point where citizens can drop off unwanted electronic devices for proper recycling and disposal.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights4 records
De Kringwinkel competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Vinted: Vinted is a leading C2C resale marketplace for second-hand fashion, directly competing with De Kringwinkel's clothing offering through a digital platform that lets consumers sell and buy used apparel peer-to-peer.
- Salvation Army (Leger des Heils / Nationaal Hulpfonds): Salvation Army operates charity second-hand stores in Belgium accepting donated goods and reselling them, sharing the social mission and broad-merchandise thrift format with De Kringwinkel.
- Cash Converters: Cash Converters operates second-hand retail stores buying and reselling used goods including electronics, furniture, and household items, with a similar physical-store second-hand model to De Kringwinkel.
- Oxfam (Oxfam-Magasins du Monde in Belgium): Oxfam operates charity second-hand shops in Belgium selling donated clothing, books, and household goods, closely paralleling De Kringwinkel's social-mission thrift retail model.
- Emmaus: Emmaus is an international social-movement organization operating second-hand shops staffed by communities in transition, directly comparable to De Kringwinkel's social employment and circular economy model.
- Marktplaats: Marktplaats is the Benelux's largest general C2C classifieds platform for second-hand goods across furniture, electronics, clothing, and household items, directly overlapping with De Kringwinkel's broad merchandise assortment.
Emerging players
- 2ndvote / Thrift+: Thrift+ is a digital platform enabling charity shops and thrift stores to sell second-hand inventory online, comparable in bridging physical second-hand retail with e-commerce as De Kringwinkel does through its webshop.
- Back Market: Back Market operates a refurbished electronics marketplace, comparable to De Kringwinkel's electronics second-life and repair services, though focused solely on refurbished consumer electronics.
- Vestiaire Collective: Vestiaire Collective is a peer-to-peer luxury and fashion resale platform, partially overlapping with De Kringwinkel's clothing resale offering at a more premium positioning.
Broad incumbents
- eBay: eBay is a global incumbent C2C marketplace where consumers buy and sell used goods across all of De Kringwinkel's categories (books, clothing, electronics, furniture), though it is not regionally specialized.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
De Kringwinkel social profiles
Digital presenceDe Kringwinkel financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
De Kringwinkel leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
De Kringwinkel funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
De Kringwinkel M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about De Kringwinkel
What does De Kringwinkel do?
De Kringwinkel operates 140 physical second-hand retail stores across Flanders, Belgium, selling donated items including books, clothing, electronics, furniture, and home goods. The retail network is complemented by an online webshop, a live auction platform for second-hand items, 155 donation points, clothing containers, free home pickup services, household clearing services, electronics and clothing repair services, and a B2B corporate remarketing sub-brand called Reloved.
Is De Kringwinkel a public or private company?
De Kringwinkel is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was De Kringwinkel founded?
De Kringwinkel was founded in 1991. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is De Kringwinkel based?
De Kringwinkel is headquartered in Gent, Belgium, in the Europe region.
How does De Kringwinkel make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Retail Sales - Physical Stores are the primary driver. The others are E-commerce Sales, auction Revenue, gift Cards and B2B Services (Reloved).
Who are De Kringwinkel's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Vinted, Salvation Army (Leger des Heils / Nationaal Hulpfonds), Cash Converters, Oxfam (Oxfam-Magasins du Monde in Belgium), Emmaus and Marktplaats. Emerging players are 2ndvote / Thrift+, Back Market and Vestiaire Collective. eBay is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does De Kringwinkel have an API?
No public API is recorded for De Kringwinkel.
What industry is De Kringwinkel in?
De Kringwinkel's product category is Second-hand Retail. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRAFAGAM, Peer-to-Peer (C2C) Resale Marketplaces, with a secondary code of BPAMAGAE, C2C Resale, Auctions & Secondhand Marketplaces. Its NAICS code is 459510 and its SIC code is 5399.