Shein will be opening a temporary store at Johannesburg’s Mall of Africa from Saturday, 2 to 11 August 2025.
Shein to launch pop-up store in South Africa this weekend
The store will allow South African shoppers to view and try on fashion items but not buy them directly in-store.
According to BusinessTech, the pop-up store will only serve as an exhibition space. Customers can try on clothes and place online orders at the store, where
Shein will offer discounts for purchases made through its website. The move introduces a mixed retail model that combines online and physical shopping, similar to strategies used by other brands like Yuppiechef.
Pre-tariff profits raise eyebrows
According to Bloomberg, Shein’s net income reportedly exceeded $400 million in the first quarter of the year, with revenue nearing $10 billion.
This boost came as American consumers rushed to buy products before the introduction of new tariffs on low-cost imports.
The company’s profit margin is said to have reached around 5%.
However, Shein has pushed back on the reported figures, calling the data “inaccurate” without offering further detail.
The retail giant has also been in the spotlight due to its stalled plans for a public stock listing. Initially targeting a US IPO, Shein changed course to consider Hong Kong after facing scrutiny over its supply chain and labor practices.
The company has reportedly filed a draft prospectus in Hong Kong but still awaits regulatory approval from Chinese authorities.
Shein’s tax practices under investigation
In South Africa, Shein’s local entry comes as its tax compliance faces growing criticism. Local clothing retailers and industry bodies accuse Shein and other online platforms like Temu of using a loophole known as the “de minimis” rule.
This rule allows items under R500 to be imported with a lower duty and without VAT.
Critics claim that Shein splits larger orders into smaller parcels to stay under the R500 threshold, allowing them to undercut local retailers on price. Michael Lawrence of the National Clothing Retail Federation stated that these companies “are not paying duties on their imports and are avoiding paying VAT where it should be applied.”
South African Revenue Service (SARS) Commissioner Edward Kieswetter confirmed that authorities are actively pursuing online retailers who exploit tax loopholes.
He noted that South Africa has lost more than R3 billion in tax revenue and that SARS is working to apply consistent duties to all imports, regardless of order size.
Shein has denied any wrongdoing and attributes its low prices to a technology-driven supply chain and on-demand business model.
A recent report by the Bureau for Economic Research (BER) shows that confidence among local semi-durable goods retailers, including clothing sellers, dropped significantly from 68% to 38% in the second quarter of 2024.
This decline followed weak sales and growing competition from low-cost online platforms like Shein.
The pop-up store, which opens during a period of both public interest and regulatory attention, signals Shein’s ongoing push to expand its global footprint—even as its business model faces scrutiny across multiple markets.