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Shein and Temu threaten local fashion jobs as e-commerce surges

Details

BL Premium reports that growing consumer appetite for online shopping is fuelling a fresh crisis in the clothing industry, with a new report warning that more than 34,000 local jobs could be lost by the end of the decade as offshore e-commerce giants tighten their grip on the market.

According to a study commissioned by the Localisation Support Fund and conducted by research firm BMA, fast growing platforms including Shein and Temu are rapidly eating into the market share of local retailers and manufacturers, pulling billions in consumer spending away from domestic value chains. In 2024 alone, the two offshore platforms raked in an estimated R7.3bn in SA sales, more than a third of all online clothing purchases. According to the report, e-commerce sales climbed from just 2.4% of the market in 2015 to nearly 10% last year.

The report said that more than 8,000 local jobs, the majority in retail and the rest in manufacturing, had effectively been lost because of the platforms’ rise. That number could quadruple by 2030 if growth continues unchecked. The threat comes as SA is beginning to rebuild its clothing and textile sector. But, the arrival and dominance of ultra-fast fashion platforms have complicated that mission as Shein and Temu is powered by global supply chains that exclude SA manufacturers almost entirely.

  • Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Nompilo Goba at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
  • Read too, Jobs and millions of rands lost – Here’s how Temu and Shein are hurting SA, at The Citizen
  • And also, Shein, Temu ‘smash and grab’: 8 000 SA jobs lost in four years, at News24 (subscription / trial registration required)


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