Popular South African streetwear brand GalXBoy, founded by fashion designer Thatiso Dube, has been accused of “ripping off” local consumers after a replica of his merchandise was spotted on Chinese fast fashion site Temu.
Earlier this year, DJ Zinhle was accused of similar business practises through her brand, Era.
REPLICA OF GALXBOY HAT SPOTTED ON TEMU
On the X app, X user TiisetxoSetso posted a side-by-side comparison of a GalXBoy hat with one from the Temu app.
The local “designer” brand – described as “durable” and “washed cotton” – was priced at R450, but the Chinese version cost just R134.
The tweep posted: “I think I should start my own clothing brand.”
In the comments section, there were strong reactions from GalXBoy fans, who defended the brand and its owner. Others, accused the local designer Thatiso Dube of essentially exploiting local consumers.
@Simphiweyinkoc_: “It’s a rip-off.”
@___saphi: “Y’all didn’t knoy’allll only buying names?”
@AloisiusA: “I bought a hat at PEP for R50 and it does the same job”
@lawdcartier: “GalXBoy is a counterfeit brand that make poor South African feel like they have luxury brand taste.”
Images via X: @djzinhle/ Shein
On his X account, Thatiso laughed off the comments with several memes.
It’s not the first time the GalXBoy brand has been dragged over rebranding fast fashion.
“You must start putting in some creativity,” one tweep posted of another item, this time spotted on Chinese E-Commerce, Shein.
The tweep later revealed he had been blocked over his comment.
WHAT IS WHITE-LABELLING?
According to Big Commerce, the process of white labelling – when one company buys products from another, in this case Shein or Temu, and rebrands them as its own – is nothing new.
In fact, many small businesses use this method to market their merchandise.
There are several reasons why this makes business sense. This includes it being:
- Cost-effective – cheaper to make and a higher profit margin
- Faster to produce, market, and sell
- Flexibility to tailor your own product to a specific target market.
- Quality control without the risks
DO YOU SHOP FROM TEMU, SHEIN OR SUPPORT LOCAL?
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