The disruption to the South African Apparel market by Chinese juggernaut Shein has been well documented. In 2023/24, the online retailer had such an effect that the local industry campaigned for stricter duties on purchases from the retailer. Their voices were heard, and duty changes came into effect from September 2024.
In this short note, we try to answer these key questions:
- Have the duties been effective?
- Which retailer is benefitting most, now that Shein has lost its lustre?
The chart below shows how Shein’s market share has changed over the past three years. It’s clear that Shein did not achieve the same level of market share at the end of 2024 (November, Black Friday) as it did at the end of 2023. Similarly, progress in the first 10 weeks of 2025 lags far behind where the brand was tracking at the same stage in 2024.
Shein’s market share over three years
