The Retailer Liaison Committee (RLC) released its Market Sales Report for August 2025. Its members’ sales accounted for 57.7% of total SA clothing sales.
Apparel, Beauty and Homeware sales grew 4.8% y-y in August (July: 6.4% y-y), with a 6-month rolling growth of 5.9% y-y and a 12-month rolling growth of 6.0% y-y.
Apparel and Beauty category sales slowed to 3.8% y-y in August, with Womenswear sales up 3.3% y-y, Menswear sales growth of 2.5% y-y, and Kids & Baby sales growing 4.3% y-y. Beauty was the only category which showed sales growth accelerating in August, up 11.8% y-y, while Homeware sales grew 9.7% y-y. Total volumes moderated to 1.1% y-y in August (July: 2.8% y-y). Womenswear was the only category which showed a contraction in volumes sold (-0.9% y-y), likely due to the higher inflation observed during the period (Womenswear inflation of 4.3% in August 2025). Total product inflation was constant at 3.6% in August.
The average unit price for the RLC was R125.85 in August (compared to R121.45 in August 2024).
