The Retailer Liaison Committee (RLC) released its Market Sales Report for May 2025. Its members’ sales accounted for 58.7% of total SA clothing sales.
Apparel, Homeware and Beauty sales grew 18.0% y-y in May (April: 6.3% y-y), with a 6-month rolling growth of 7.2% y-y and a 12-month rolling growth of 7.2% y-y.
Apparel and Beauty categories achieved strong double-digit sales growth during May, with Womenswear up 18.0% y-y, Menswear up 19.4% y-y, Kids & Baby up 20.8% y-y and Beauty up 10.7% y-y.
Homeware sales grew 13.5% y-y in May (April: +9.8% y-y). While this category has performed strongly, sales growth in May was driven by price inflation (8.4%) as volumes continue to slow in this category.
Total RLC volumes grew 12.2% y-y in May (April: 2.8% y-y).
Product inflation continues to tick up, with inflation in May at 5.1% (April: 3.4%).
The average unit price for the RLC was 76 in May (compared to R127.25 in May 2024).