TFG slams gambling threat

UNDER PRESSURE: SERIOUS QUESTIONS REMAIN ON APPAREL RETAILER'S STRATEGY, GROWTH >>> Online betting's rise greater challenge than Shein – CEO.

- Hilton Tarrant

T FG CEO Anthony Thunström says the retailer will be adding its “weight to the calls for proper regulation” of online gambling, which is “almost entirely extractive and of no benefit to the country”.

He noted the “recent Supreme Court ruling that online fixed odds gambling is illegal in South Africa”.

TFG is the third retailer, after Pick n Pay and Famous Brands, to flag concern about the rapid uptake of online betting and gaming in recent weeks.

Thunström said this “exponential growth” in online gambling is a far greater threat than the impact of Chinese e-commerce players (primarily Shein).

Speaking at the release of its interim results last Friday, Thunström said “the application of level playing field rules” where import and customs duties started being levied on smaller value parcels from November 2024 has seen Shein's growth slow.

The owner of 39 retail brands across the clothing, homeware and furniture categories, in Africa, the UK and Australia cited data from Reveal that shows Shein's average basket size in SA has dropped 30% from its April 2023 peak.