Shein and Temu are ahead of big international stores in South Africa’s fashion market
Report released on Tuesday shows that Shein and Temu, two Chinese-based online stores, have taken a 3.6% part of South Africa’s retail, clothing, textile, footwear, and leather (CTFL) market, bringing in 7.3 billion rand ($405 million) in sales.
Shein first came out on the market in 2020, and Temu came out in 2024. Both have changed the way local stores work by using aggressive pricing, smart marketing, and tax breaks that gave them an initial edge over local stores.
Their draw to price-conscious customers has hurt local stores, which is why they pushed regulators to close the tax loophole last year, which they did.
According to a study from the Localization Support Fund (LSF), the market share of CTFL sold by domestic retailers fell from 75.3% in 2011 to 74% in 2024. Meanwhile, foreign stores like Cotton On, H&M (HMb.ST), and Zara (ITX.MC) have a 3.4% share total.
Right now, Shein and Temu together have a 3.6% share of the CTFL market and 37.1% of South Africa’s e-commerce CTFL market. Shein alone is responsible for 28% of all online women’s CTFL sales.
According to Sean Mercer, principal consultant at consulting company BMA, “those (international) retailers got this market share over the course of 13 years, and Shein and Temu have been able to match and beat this in just five years.”
