AI-native retail technology platform, Fynd, backed by Reliance Retail Ventures Limited, has announced its official expansion into South Africa. At the same time, the platform onboards the Surtee Group – one of the region’s most established luxury and fashion retailers – as its first strategic customer in the market. This milestone marks a pivotal moment for African retail, as the legacy brands begin embracing digital transformation to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving consumer landscape.
Fynd’s entry into Africa reflects its commitment to enabling digital transformation in high-growth retail markets worldwide. The move also comes at a turning point when South Africa’s e-commerce sector is projected to exceed R130 billion (USD 7.48 billion) in 2025, capturing almost 10 percent of total retail sales – a fourfold increase since 2020.
According to Statista, South Africa is expected to have 11.7 million e-commerce users in 2025, with projections reaching 21.5 million by 2029. This growth is being driven by a rising internet penetration, mobile-first shopping behaviour, and increasing trust in digital platforms. To meet rising consumer expectations, businesses are investing in AI and unified commerce platforms. Fynd’s scalable, AI-native stack is built to support this shift, enabling agility, personalisation, and operational efficiency.
“South Africa’s retail landscape is evolving fast,” commented the Chief Business Officer – Global at Fynd, Ronak Modi. Consumers expect seamless, personalised experiences across every channel, and retailers need agile, intelligent infrastructure to keep up. Our platform is built to unify disconnected systems, speed up fulfilment, and elevate customer engagement; all without adding operational complexity.”
“South Africa is an exciting addition to our global footprint. The market is digitally ambitious, brand-forward, and ready for intelligent commerce infrastructure. Our goal is to help local retailers unify siloed systems, personalise engagement, and accelerate fulfilment without adding complexity.”
Surtee Group operates 94 boutiques and 2 e-commerce sites, comprising the multi-branded stores Levisons and the mono-brand boutiques, such as Giorgio Armani, Michael Kors, Lacoste, and Hugo Boss, among others will implement Fynd’s unified commerce stack. The latter encompasses Storefronts, Order Management System (OMS), Warehouse Management System (WMS), and Clienteling tools to connect in-store and online operations, streamline inventory visibility, and launch brand-specific ecommerce storefronts across its brand portfolio.
Fynd’s entry into the market is designed to meet this demand. Its AI-native platform enables real-time stock visibility, ship-from-store capabilities, dark store orchestration, and intelligent customer engagement all within a single scalable solution.
As part of its digital transformation roadmap, Surtee Group aims to consolidate its leadership in luxury and fashion retail while expanding into e-commerce and improving omnichannel agility.
Fynd has already scaled across India, the GCC, and Southeast Asia, and now adds Africa to its regional presence. With Surtee Group leading the transformation, Fynd is positioned to play a key role in powering unified commerce adoption across South Africa’s growing digital economy.
