Due to tough government regulations on foreign exchange hinder them from getting stocks into their stores and cash out of the country. Hence, South African retail clothing firms are under pressure. South Africa’s largest listed clothing retailer, Truworths International has closed its remaining two stores in Nigeria in response to the stringent regulations that have made it difficult for the South African retailer to operate in Africa’s biggest economy.

A recent survey shows that other clothing firms may go the path of Truworths and Woolworth, a Cape Town-based food and clothing retailer that dumped the Nigerian market in 2013 following high rental costs and complex supply chain processes, if the restrictions are not eased.

Foshino Group, another South African retail clothing firm, is not exempt from the storm sweeping softly through the South African clothing sector in Nigeria, as its sales have also dropped considerably. According to market analysts, with sustained strains on the importation of merchandise, foreign companies may soon begin to flirt with neighbouring sub-Saharan African countries that can boast of enabling environments for foreign investments to thrive, as they move to dump Nigeria.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) identified massive staff retrenchment and significant foreign investment capital flight from the economy as unavoidable effects of the withdrawal of Truworths from the Nigerian scene. However, the commission asserted that the restrictions inhibiting the clothing firms could serve as an opportunity for Nigeria to look inwards and revamp the textile and garment industry.