Les Petits Riens

Name

Les Petits Riens

Legal name

Les Petits Riens asbl

Website

https://petitsriens.be

Company type

Private

Founded year

1937

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Economy and Social Services

NAICS

Used Merchandise Retailers (459510)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Circular Economy & Sustainable Products (Reuse, Repair, Upcycling) (BPAGALAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Circular Economy & Resource Efficiency (BPADALAM)

Keywords

• Second-hand retail
• Social services
• Textile collection
• Vocational training
• Homeless shelters

Headquarters

HQ city

Brussels

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Second-hand goods retail: Sale of donated second-hand items including clothing, accessories, furniture, books, bicycles, appliances, toys, electronics, and household items through 30 retail stores and an online platform. Revenue is the primary funding source for social actions.
2. Financial donations: Monthly recurring donations, one-time gifts, and legacy/bequest programs from individual donors. Online donation platform available.
3. Public subsidies: Partial funding from public institutions (Cocof, Cocom, European Social Fund, etc.) covering operational costs of various social programs and insertion activities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Les Petits Riens is a nonprofit social economy enterprise that collects, sorts, and sells second-hand goods (clothing, furniture, appliances, books, electronics, toys, bicycles) through 30 retail stores and an online platform across Belgium. Proceeds from the commercial activity fund a portfolio of social services including emergency shelters, housing support, mobile mental health teams, social centers, day centers, professional reintegration programs, and vocational training in electromechanics.

Product overview

Les Petits Riens is a social economy enterprise operating since 1937 that combines second-hand retail operations with comprehensive social services. The organization runs a network of 28-30 second-hand stores and textile collection services (bulk of economic activity), which fund an ecosystem of social programs including: shelter services (Maison Prévôt, @Home18-24 with Auton'Home extension, Maison Parenté), home follow-up support (Un Toit à Soi), a social center (CASAF), mental health mobile team (Syner'Santé), a day center (L'Aire de Rien) with mobile laundry (La Bulle), and professional reintegration services (Pôle Insertion, EFE, Centre de Formation Horizon). The portfolio also includes an own upcycling brand (Label Jaune). The integrated model funds social mission through retail revenue while providing employment and training opportunities for beneficiaries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Second-hand Stores Network Network of 30 second-hand retail stores across Belgium (Brussels, Wallonia, Flanders) plus an online store selling donated clothing, accessories, furniture, books, toys, electronics, bicycles, and household items. Proceeds fund social actions.
• Textile and Goods Collection Collection service for material donations including textiles, furniture, appliances, books, and other objects via 800+ clothing collection containers (bulles textiles) available 24/7, dedicated deposit centers, and in-store drop-off points. Accepts items for sorting and resale.
• Maison Prévôt Emergency shelter for homeless men aged 20-60, with capacity for 105 men in mostly individual rooms. Provides psychosocial, administrative, and medical support services.
• @Home18-24 Shelter for young homeless people aged 18-24 with capacity for 21 young men in individual rooms. Focuses on education, training, and development of autonomous living skills, with an Auton'Home semi-autonomous housing annex added in 2023.
• Maison Parenté Shelter for single-parent families in precarious situations. 16 modular housing units with capacity for 45 people, located near Brussels-South station.
• Un Toit à Soi Post-shelter home follow-up service providing personalized accompaniment in five domains: rights access, housing maintenance, budget management, social reintegration, and health.
• Centre d'Accueil Social Abbé Froidure (CASAF) Social reception center offering listening, psychosocial support, debt mediation, legal and material aid, adult animations, and food aid.
• Syner'Santé Mobile mental health team providing ambulatory support for people suffering from addictions and/or psychological difficulties. Team consists of two social workers, a psychologist, and a psychiatrist.
• L'Aire de Rien Day center offering unconditional reception, rest, and psycho-social guidance for people in need. Provides free services including lockers, hot drinks, PC/WiFi access, and telephone.
• Pôle Insertion Professional reintegration hub organizing work activities for marginalized populations through article 60 insertion contracts, volunteers, and sheltered workers across logistics, sales, sorting, repair, social work, and administration.
• Espace Formation Emploi (EFE) Employment and training service helping job seekers build a socio-professional assessment, define their career project, and implement active job search or training strategies.
• Centre de Formation Horizon Vocational training center providing 13-month professional qualification training in household appliance and electromechanics repair, with certification. 66% of graduates in 2024 found employment or pursued additional training within 6 months.
• Label Jaune Own-brand upcycling label producing clothing and accessories made from recycled or repurposed second-hand textile materials.

Quantifiable outcome

• 391 people housed in welcoming houses in 2025
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Université Catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015University partnership established in 2015 to create the 'Chaire Les Petits Riens' - a research chair studying social economy complexity and developing solutions for social and economic sustainability of social enterprises based on field analysis. Annual publications and symposiums organized.
• Cocof (Commission Communautaire Française)coreOthersSubsidizing body for French-language social services in Brussels, providing funding support for various social programs including shelter services.
• Cocom (Common Community Commission)coreOthersBrussels institutional body that subsidizes and approves certain social services including CASAF and day centers.
• Fonds Social Européen (European Social Fund)coreOthersEuropean funding body supporting professional training programs including Centre Horizon training activities.
• ActiriscoreOthersBrussels employment service providing support for professional training and insertion programs.
• Bruxelles FormationcoreOthersBrussels professional training body supporting Centre Horizon training programs for electro-mechanics.
• Fondation Roi Baudouin (Koning Boudewijnstichting)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupported the Auton'home project by acquiring the family home and funding renovation works for young people aged 18-24 in precarious situations.
• Fédération Abbé FroidurecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederation grouping approximately 30 associations founded by Abbé Froidure, most dedicated to welcoming children in difficulty.
• RESSOURCES NetworkminorOthersNetwork managing the Solid'R label that distinguishes organizations committed to ethical and solidarity rules in material donation collection.
• PointCarréminorGTM or Marketing PartnerRetail partnership for upcycling fashion initiative 'PointCarré x Les Petits Riens' - collection of denim jeans transformed into new fashion items, with proceeds supporting social actions.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• RESSOURCES asbl: Belgian network managing the Solid'R ethical-label for social-economy second-hand organizations. Les Petits Riens is already a certified member; the network shapes industry standards, training and policy advocacy for the broader sector.
• Fédération Abbé Froidure: Federation grouping ~30 associations founded by Abbé Froidure (Les Petits Riens' own founder). Sister organizations provide related child-welfare and social-services programming under the same historic Belgian social-economy umbrella.
• CPAS/OCMW Brussels: Brussels Public Centre for Social Welfare is both a major funder (article-60 insertion contracts) and a quasi-competitor for shelter, housing and insertion mandates. Critical ecosystem counterparty that determines Les Petits Riens' insertion-program volume.

Direct peers

• Oxfam-Magasins du Monde: Belgian fair-trade and second-hand retail organization running a network of Magasins du Monde / Wereldwinkels that sell donated and fair-trade goods to fund development cooperation. Direct Belgian peer sharing the second-hand retail-funds-mission model.
• La Recyclerie: Paris-based social-economy venue combining a café, urban farm, workshops and second-hand retail, all under a circular-economy banner. Comparable mix of physical collection point, retail store and social/environmental programming targeting urban beneficiaries.
• Emmaüs France: Federation of French social-economy organizations that collect, sort and resell donated second-hand goods to fund housing and reintegration services for excluded people. Operates the same integrated 'compagnons' and resale-store model as Les Petits Riens and shares Belgian/French geographic proximity and the Abbé Pierre heritage.
• Salvation Army Belgium (Armée du Salut): Operates thrift stores (Family Stores / Brocantines) in Belgium whose proceeds fund social and shelter programs. Most comparable peer in the Belgian second-hand-retail-for-social-mission segment.

Regional players

• Kringloopbedrijf / Komosie: Dutch network of social-economy second-hand collection and resale operations funding reintegration of disadvantaged workers. Operates the same circular-economy-meets-social-inclusion model just across the northern Belgian border.

Broad incumbents

• Croix-Rouge de Belgique (Belgian Red Cross): Large Belgian humanitarian organization operating shelters, social services and a network of second-hand stores (Vide Dressing / Kringwinkels) that fund humanitarian programs. Broader humanitarian mandate but overlapping retail-meets-shelter model.
• Caritas Belgique / Caritas Vlaanderen: Belgian federation of social-services organizations providing housing, food aid and reintegration programs comparable to Les Petits Riens' social services portfolio. Less retail-focused but competes for the same pool of public social-services funding.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/spullenhulp
• Facebookfacebook.com/lespetitsriens
• Instagraminstagram.com/petitsriens.be
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/les-petits-riens-asbl-spullenhulp-vzw

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Les Petits Riens