Bash achieving something exceptional

The Foschini Group’s (TFG’s) online shopping platform Bash is expected to break even ahead of schedule despite increased competition from Temu and Shein.

Bash was officially launched on 20 February 2023 by eCommerce veterans Claude Hanan and Luke Jedeiken.

Hanan and Jedeiken founded the fashion retailer Superbalist, which was sold to Takealot. They served as Takealot executives following the acquisition.

Through Bash, they aimed to change online shopping in South Africa by offering clients scale and choice.

South Africans can use Bash as a “one-stop shop” for hundreds of brands that are part of the TFG group.

It also leverages the existing relationship with its TFG user base and expands it through good customer service and consistent communication.

Although Bash offers good prices and service levels, it faces strong competition from Chinese eCommerce giants Temu and Shein.

The entrance of Temu and Shein has had a tremendous impact on the local online shopping market. It offers prices so low that local retailers cannot match them.

Industry speculation suggests that Takealot is looking to sell Superbalist because of the impact of Temu and Shein.

Bash, in comparison, is doing well. In its latest financial results, TFG said its online shopping platform Bash is expected to break even ahead of schedule.

With continued investment in Bash, online retail turnover grew by 44.4% and now contributes 4.2% to retail turnover.

TFG CEO Anthony Thunström said Bash’s strong performance means its breakeven point has been brought forward.

“Bash is now the number one South African fashion and lifestyle app and saw a 45% increase in first-time shoppers,” he said.

Bash versus Superbalist

Google Trends data shows that Bash has overtook Superbalist in search traffic soon after its launch in February 2023.

Google Trends provides access to a largely unfiltered sample of search requests made to Google. This data can be requested for a specific country.

It provides a window into what people are searching for and the trend of whether a company’s search activity is increasing or decreasing.

The Google Trends data below illustrates how Bash overtook Suparbalist in brand awareness and search traffic.

Similarweb statistics

According to SimilarWeb data, Bash has built a significant traffic and engagement lead over Superbalist.

Bash attracted 5.8 million monthly visits in May 2024, compared to Superbalist’s 2.7 million. Bash also received more unique visitors than Superbalist.