SA fashion retailer launches online store

Ecommerce in South Africa is gaining traction with new ecommerce plays entering and exiting the market more and more frequently. Last year retail outlet Woolworths launched an online store for its fashion line, becoming one of the first major South African retailer to enter the ecommerce space.

Now another chain retailer has joined the party. Affordable fashion retail outlet Mr Price’s online store went live today under the moniker MRP.

We are live!! #mrponline Woohoooo

— Mr Price Fashion (@MrPriceFashion) July 30, 2012

The publicly traded retail company announced its plans for an online store earlier this year as an attempt to increase its market share in the growing competitiveness of SA’s fashion retail industry.

“An online selling capability will enable Mr Price to further strengthen relationships with our target customers, who are tech savvy and require a convenient and secure way to get their fashion,” Mr Price CEO Stuart Bird told Business Day. “Customers around the country will be able to access the full range of merchandise that was previously only possible by shopping at one of the larger stores.”

The multiplatform store will offer the full Mr Price apparel from a range of about 18 000 fashion items. The site which is accessible from most devices offers an array of payment options and will cost shoppers R35 per delivery anywhere in South Africa.

Mr Price will face competition with the likes of Zando, a purely online fashion retailer that entered SA’s ecommerce space earlier this year. Zando, which is backed by ecommerce powerhouse Rocket Internet, has shown considerable success since launching, with 200 000 monthly visitors to the site.

Currently Mr Price stores are located around selected countries in Africa such as Namibia, Botswana, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi with 364 stores of those stores in South Africa.

The retailer plans to launch online stores for its Home and Sports outlets sometime next year.