learn this article $-$ The China$-$based ultra$-$low$-$cost fast fashion retailer might have a growing market in South Africa, but it$$s putting the

squeeze on local retailers.

The fashion industry is the world$$s second$-$biggest polluter and fast fashion is at the very heart of the problem, with ultralow$-$

cost$,$ cross$-$border retailers accused of human rights violations, environmental degradation, social problems and waste,

because returned products are not recycled or resold $$ they$$re destroyed.

These international e$-$commerce giants are also starting to eat South African clothing retailers$$ lunch, even if they will not

admit it publicly.

Last week, Takealot$$s Superbalist announced it had commenced a Section $189$ process, to restructure its business. Days

earlier, Takealot $$ clearly twitchy about global behemoth Amazon$$s pending arrival $$ announced it was trialling an ondemand

service, which offers customers in Durbanville, Parow and surrounds in Northern Cape Town a selection of about

$500$ products, which will be delivered within the hour.

The Naspers$-$owned Takealot Group $$ comprising Takealot.com, Mr D and Superbalist, is under pressure. Not only is it yet

to post a profit since its launch in $2011,$ but on $27$ June this year, the group reported a $$22-$million $($then R$407-$million$)$ loss $$

more than three times higher than the previous year.

$$Deliberate$$ restructuring

Superbalist, meanwhile, denies that its retrenchment process has anything to do with a loss of market share to local and

international competitors.

It told Daily Maverick that its business planning was in $$no way$$ linked to competitor activity.

$$Superbalist has embarked on a process to restructure its business as part of a deliberate shift in its efficiencies and in

response to actual business realities. We remain conscious of the need to ensure relevance with the current consumer

realities and a generally poor economic outlook.$$

It said, like many other businesses, it was faced with the reality that growth post$-$Covid had not reached the levels that had

been forecast.

$$As such we need to re$-$evaluate our structures to ensure that the business operates effectively in this current economic

environment.

$$We are deeply conscious of the impact a change in business operations may have on our people. Our first and most

important focus is on doing what is right for them, while still being conscious of the decisions we must make to deliver a

business geared for a long$-$term future. We will work hard to balance these two realities at all times,$$ it said, adding that its

downsizing was unrelated to the rest of the group, because each operating company was measured against its own

strategy and performance.

Founded in $2010$ by Luke Jedeikin and Claude Hanan, Superbalist $($then known as Citymob$)$ quickly became South Africa$$s

biggest online fashion retailer, which is why it was deemed to be such a catch when Takealot acquired the business four

years later.

Daily Investor reports that at the time, former Takealot CEO Kim Reid said he was excited about the acquisition because the

millennial generation was deemed to be the most powerful and relevant market. Superbalist operated as an independent

brand under Hanan and Jedeikin, who quit in $2019$ and joined the Foschini Group $($TFG$)$ in $2021.$

In February this year, Jedeikin and Hanan launched Bash $$ TFG$$s online shopping platform which sells clothing and home

brands including Foschini, Fabiani, Jet, Exact, American Swiss, GStar Raw, @home, Sneaker Factory and Granny Goose.

The hybrid retailer has shot up rapidly in both the Apple and Google Play stores, outpacing Superbalist.

Despite Bash$$s success, it too is faced with unstoppable competition from the East. Fast fashion retailers such as Shein,

which operates online, market primarily through influencers $($especially micro$-$influencers$)$ and distribute parcels using local

couriers.

Shein, in particular, has invested millions in online campaigns, advertisement deals and even a social media reality show

co$-$hosted by Khlo$$ Kardashian.

A sprawling online marketplace for about $6,000$ clothing factories in China, Shein uses software that collects near$-$instant

data about which items are selling and which aren$$t to visibly boost the popular items on the website. An investigation

by Rest of World revealed that Shein added anywhere between $2,000$ and $10,000$ individual styles to its app each day

between July and December $2021.$

These international giants are undercutting local retailers and have been accused of bypassing customs duties. Customers

pick up the tab for the import duties, which vary wildly between $10\%45\%,$ as observed on the Shein South Africa

community group on Facebook.

Shein is coining it here. Hanan told Daily Maverick: $$Our recent back$-$of$-$a$-$matchbox calculation $$ and no one knows for

sure $$ combined with a few reports, suggests Shein$$s revenues in South Africa $[$are$]$ in the region of R$5-$billion. Just in a little

corner of Africa.$$

The