Online fashion retailer Superbalist has informed employees that it plans to cut a large percentage of its staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BusinessTech received information from people close to Superbalist that the online store plans to retrench around 28% of its workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The retrenchments affect most departments, including engineering, product management, finance, design, buying, and support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c75 roles will be retrenched, which includes shutting down the entire vertical design centre of 45 people,\u201d one source said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The people linked to Superbalist said the company plans to serve notices by 2 December 2024, right after the annual Black Friday sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another source told BusinessTech that Superbalist has also started aggressive markdowns of certain items in their warehouse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These markdowns range from Mango to their private labels as Superbalist tries to clear terminal stock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The latest round of retrenchments followed the sale of Superbalist to a group of private equity investors led by Blank Canvas Capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On 1 September 2024, the Takealot Group, which used to own Superbalist, sold the online store to private equity investors<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis strategic acquisition will support Superbalist\u2019s ongoing growth, allowing the Takealot Group to dedicate its efforts to further expanding Takealot and Mr D,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Takealot said Superbalist services will continue to operate without interruption throughout the transition period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Takealot will also continue to provide warehousing and logistics services to Superbalist through a multi-year service agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Takealot Group remains committed to providing exceptional value and service to our customers,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This was not the first round of retrenchments Superbalist employees faced. It also cut staff in August 2023<\/a><\/strong> when it was still part of the Takealot Group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the time, Superbalist said it needed to reevaluate its structures to ensure that the business operates effectively in this current economic environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLike many other businesses, we are faced with the reality that growth post-Covid has not reached the levels that had been forecast,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n BusinessTech tried to contact Superbalist for comments, but the contact form on its website did not allow it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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