Mr Price and TFG keep R41 of every R100 you spend. So why is a decent plain T-shirt still a gamble?

A plain T-shirt should be the easiest thing in the shop.

No logo. No print. One colour. Yet ask South African men where they buy one that fits, holds its shape and does not cost a fortune, and the answers are shrugs. Cheap ones go thin, shoppers say. The good ones cost double.

The big chains are not short of room on clothes. Mr Price's gross margin for the year to March 2026 was 41.2%, up 70 basis points, on revenue of R42.7 billion. TFG's was 41.6%, down 100 basis points, on revenue of R67.1 billion (from a press report of its results). Pepkor's was 40.8% for the six months to March 2026.

Gross margin is what is left of the price after the cost of the goods, before rent, staff and tax. It is not profit.

So where does a basic T-shirt go wrong?

Where does the money in a R149 T-shirt actually go?

Take a R149 tee, the price Shoprite's Uniq chain used for its launch T-shirts in 2023. We cannot see any retailer's margin on one tee, so this uses Mr Price's group-wide 41.2%. It is an illustration, not a claim about any shop's real numbers.

Source: Our calculation from Mr Price's FY2026 gross margin of 41.2%, South African VAT of 15%, and the R149 Uniq launch price. The shop's real margin on a single tee is not public.

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Roughly half the price is what the shop paid to get the shirt on the rail. Out of that R76, the cotton, the sewing and the ship all have to fit. Something gets squeezed, and shoppers say it is the fabric.

Does South Africa really charge 45% duty on clothing?

Yes, on most imported clothing. Retailers say they pay 45% duty plus 15% VAT when they bring clothes in.

The table below shows what that does to a made-up shirt that cost R50 at the factory gate.

The 20% flat rate comes from a 2007 rule for parcels under R500, with no VAT. Retailers said Shein and Temu used it by splitting big orders into small parcels. Both companies deny that. They say their local distributors follow the rules.

SARS said in June 2024 that it would charge the same duties on small clothing parcels as on large ones. The start date was then put on hold while SARS talked to industry. Treasury's 2025 draft tax proposals went further and floated putting 15% VAT on all low-value imports. We could not confirm that any of this is now law, so check with SARS before you rely on it.

Photo: Christian Heilmann / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Why do the big chains not just make everything here?

Because the country has a target, not yet a factory floor to match.

The Retail-Clothing, Textile, Footwear and Leather Masterplan aims for 65% of clothing sold by local retailers to be made in South Africa by 2030. Local orders by retailers rose from 250 million units in 2019 to 389 million in 2024. That is 34% of the sourcing of the companies that signed up.

Individual chains report different numbers. A Masterplan review says TFG lifted local sourcing from 35.7% to 47% in two financial years. Mr Price said in 2021 that about 80 million units, roughly 40% of its sourcing, were made locally.

For the wider fight over who is winning the clothing aisle, see why Shoprite and Boxer are rising while TFG and Woolworths fall. And if prices in general are biting, follow one truck of groceries from the farm to your shelf.

Photo: Khanya Ntantiso Arosi / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

What do men say is wrong with the basics?

The complaints are about fabric, not fashion.

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In 2023 a South African content creator went viral after saying a Mr Price T-shirt went from a medium to an extra large after one wash. It was one clip, not a lab test. The same report said Mr Price skinny jeans felt tight on day one and loose later.

At the other end, shoppers say Woolworths feels better but costs a lot more. In January 2026 a viral TikTok compared pyjamas at R189.99 from Mr Price and R499 from Woolworths. Commenters split down the middle. Some said the dearer set was worth it. Others said the cheaper one was just as soft.

Woolworths says every item meets its own Exceptional Quality standard. That is its claim, not an outside test.

The price gap is real. A plain regular-fit white tee from the brand Torso was listed at R420 on PriceCheck through Takealot. That is nearly three times the Uniq launch price.

We tried to line up today's plain-tee shelf prices at Mr Price, Woolworths, Markham, Cotton On and H&M. Their websites would not show us prices, so we are not printing a table we cannot stand behind. Check the tag the day you buy.

Photo: Alan D Cirker / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

How do you spot a good T-shirt before you pay?

You do not need a lab. You need the tag and your hands.

1. Read the cotton percentage. One hundred percent cotton or a cotton-rich blend breathes better. Heavy polyester blends fade and bobble faster, shoppers often say.
2. Look for weight in grams per square metre (GSM). Most shops do not print it. As a rough rule, about 150 GSM is a light summer tee, 180 to 220 is a solid everyday basic, and anything thinner will probably show through when it is white.
3. Hold it up to a light. If you can see your fingers clearly through the cloth, it is thin.
4. Check the neck. A good tee has a thick, ribbed neckband that springs back. A flat, thin one gapes after a few washes.
5. Look at the seams. Straight, tight stitching on the shoulders and hem.
6. Buy one, wash it, measure it. Wash it cold, dry it flat, and compare it with the size on the tag. If it shrank, you lost one shirt, not six.

Now try cost per wear. This is an example, not a promise. A R149 tee worn 20 times before it gives up costs R7.45 a wear. A R420 tee worn 100 times costs R4.20 a wear. The cheaper tee only wins if it lasts.

Which one is which? Nobody prints that on the tag. Every one of these companies knows its margin on that shirt to the cent, and the only person in the shop who does not is the one holding it.