GALXBOY founder Thatiso Dube – who has been accused of duping South Africans with his designs – has reacted to a social media expose that luxury brands are “made in China.”
The popular South African streetwear designer is one of many who practice white labelling, which is the process of rebranding and reselling products manufactured in factories abroad.
His designs have also been accused of being a “rip off” of Italian high-end brand, Gucci.
GALXBOY REACTS TO CHINESE DESIGNER BRAND EXPOSE
In recent days, the trade war between China and the US – run by President Donald Trump – has intensified. This follows Trump imposing a 145% tariff on imported Chinese goods in a bid to boost US manufacturing and employment. However, China’s retaliation with a 125% tariff on US products has resulted in a tense stand-off between the countries.
On social media, Chinese businessmen have taken the economic war up a notch with allegations that many high-end designers like Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and many more are secretly “made in China.”
The Chinese merchants are also offering to sell the same products to the public at cost-price, eliminating the “middle man,” in this case being, the US.
On his X account, GALXBOY’s Thatiso Dube was roped into the social media commentary, given the criticism of his own business.
The local businessman was accused of being knowledgeable of Chinese fast fashion. This included merchants who supply to luxury brands that benefit from their cheap labour.
Thatiso retweeted several memes poking fun at the trade war, as well as X posts that criticised the “insane markups” of items.
WHAT IS WHITE LABELLING?
Last year, GALXBOY and DJ Zinhle were accused of selling overpriced and rebranded Chinese merchandise.
In a TikTok post this week, one user shared a look at a Chinese factory tasked with manufacturing Thatiso Dube’s streetwear fashion.
Like many businesses, Thatiso and Zinhle Jiyane practice white labelling, which is when a company buys products in bulk from another – benefitting from cheap, mass production abroad – and rebrands them as its own.
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 THINK GALXBOY’S BUSINESS MODEL MAKES SENSE?
Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1.
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