Is Gucci leaving South Africa?

There is no real evidence or proof that Gucci is leaving South Africa, especially since the brand has just opened a new store in Durban.

Rumours have been spreading that the high-end fashion brand, Gucci, may be leaving South Africa. But, given that all of the brand’s stores are still open and no official announcement has been made about this, this seems unlikely.

Is Gucci leaving South Africa?

Panic swept through the South African TikTok and Twitter-sphere this week as rumours spread that the luxury Italian fashion brand, Gucci, is planning to close all of its stores in South Africa.

Although some people, including the parody Twitter account Man’s NOT Barry Roux (with 2 million followers) have reported that Gucci will close down all of its South African stores due to declining sales, the brand itself has not confirmed this at all.

In fact, the Gucci stores in Johannesburg and Cape Town are both still open and very active on social media. The brand also recently opened a brand new store in Durban, which serves as pretty solid evidence that the people at the top are seemingly not too worried about sales or withdrawal from the country. Overall, it seems very unlikely that Gucci will be leaving the country any time soon.

The brand new Gucci store

The Platinum Walk, a R600 million luxury fashion development which forms part of the Oceans Mall in Umhlanga, Durban, opened its doors just a few months ago on Friday, 14 April 2023.

This development has now become home to 12 well-known luxury fashion brands, including Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, Burberry, Jimmy Choo, Hugo Boss, and of course, Gucci. It offers just about everything you need for the most high-end of shopping experiences.

Other Gucci stores in South Africa

The Gucci brand made its first direct entry into the South African shopping market back in 2015 in a joint-venture with GMT, and it has been slowly expanding ever since.

Besides the newest Umhlanga store, the brand also has stores in Johannesburg and Cape Town, as listed below:

Store	Location	Contact details
Gucci Johannesburg	U15 Diamond Walk Sandton City, Johannesburg, Gauteng, 2196, South Africa	Call +27104425252 or email gucci.johannesburg@za.gucci.com
Gucci Cape Town	Victoria Wharf Shopping Centre, unit 7223/7225, V&A Waterfront Cape Town, 8002, South Africa	Call +27212000774 or email gucci.capetown@za.gucci.com

Other places to find Gucci items in South Africa

Unfortunately, even though the brand has been in South Africa for almost a decade, the Gucci online store still does not offer the option to ship here. Therefore, making your purchases in-store at Gucci is the best way to ensure that you are getting authentic merchandise. However, if you are in a bind, some third-party sellers like Luxity do sell authenticated Gucci items.