South Africa didn’t see Psycho Bunny coming. Now it can’t get enough.
From a single store in Sandton City, to a soon to be six-location national footprint in under two years, Tarryn and Richard Epstein are writing one of South African retail’s most compelling growth stories.
There is a moment every premium brand chases and very few are able to achieve: the point where customers stop discovering the product and start seeking it out. For Psycho Bunny in South Africa, that moment arrived sooner than anticipated, and it has not slowed down since.
On 26 June 2026, Psycho Bunny opened its doors at Canal Walk Shopping Centre in Cape Town, its fourth store in under two years, and the latest chapter in what is fast becoming one of the most exciting retail expansion stories in the country. By September, the brand will trade from six locations nationally, spanning Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria, and Polokwane, with a team of more than 50 people behind it.
The timing is no accident. South Africa’s luxury goods market is projected to grow by 15% in 2025, according to Euromonitor International, making it one of the fastest-growing luxury markets in the world, ahead of India at 10% and the UAE at 9%. Retail sales in textiles, clothing, footwear, and leather goods surged 9.9% year-on-year in January 2026, the strongest performance of any retail category. South African consumers, have been ready for exactly what Psycho Bunny has to offer.
The Epsteins – a conviction that became a calling
Behind the brand in South Africa are Tarryn and Richard Epstein. A husband-and-wife team whose combined retail experience, and commercial instinct, made them exactly the right custodians for its local launch.
Tarryn Epstein, Managing Director of Slimsuit Distributors (Pty) Ltd and Director of ARTI Holdings, came up through the industry the hard way, from the shop floor through store and field management before building a multi-brand retail group alongside her husband. Together, they hold the exclusive South African distribution rights for Psycho Bunny, and together, they made the call that would define the next chapter of their careers.
“We had watched Psycho Bunny build a near cult-like following internationally and we believed South African consumers, who are discerning, brand-aware, and hungry for newness deserved access to it,” says Richard Epstein. “The quality speaks for itself. Once someone wears a Psycho Bunny polo, they come back.” It was that last sentence – they come back – that told the Epsteins everything they needed to know. In retail, repeat purchase behaviour is the truest test of a brand’s staying power.
What makes a cult brand
Psycho Bunny was founded in 2005. Their mission was, to create the perfect polo shirt. The result was a polo made from 100% Pima cotton with taped seams, side vents, mother-of-pearl buttons, and the brand’s iconic logo, a rabbit skull and crossbones rendered in more than 3,000 individual stitches.
According to Euromonitor’s Voice of the Consumer: Retail Survey 2025, 52% of high-income shoppers prefer shopping in-store for fashion, up from 36% in 2023, and Psycho Bunny’s immersive retail experience is built for that consumer.
A family brand in the making
What has surprised even the Epsteins about the South African rollout is the speed at which Psycho Bunny has become a multi-generational proposition. While the brand built its international reputation in premium menswear, womenswear launched at the end of 2025, and childrenswear has emerged as one of the fastest-growing categories in the portfolio, already accounting for 20% of total South African turnover.
“The response to kidswear has exceeded every expectation,” says Tarryn Epstein. “Parents who discover the brand through their own wardrobe want to dress their children in it too. It has become a family brand in South Africa, and that’s a very exciting place to be.”
“Retail is a people business. Every store we open is a team of individuals we’re investing in, training, and growing,” she says. “Psycho Bunny attracts a certain kind of person: someone with infectious energy, genuine enthusiasm, and the kind of personality that lights up a room the moment they walk in – that’s who Psycho Bunny people are.”
“Premium brands earn their place by delivering on every promise, every time,” says Richard Epstein. “Psycho Bunny does that, and our job is to make sure every South African who values quality, craft, and originality knows this brand by name.”
At Canal Walk today, that work continues. Six stores. Fifty jobs. One very distinctive bunny. And, by all indication, a very long runway ahead.
Psycho Bunny is available at Sandton City, V&A Waterfront, Gateway Theatre of Shopping, Canal Walk Shopping Centre, and online at psychobunnyza.com. Menlyn Park opens August 2026. Mall of the North opens September 2026.
Media enquiries: pr@lemonsorbet.co.za or 076 235 8230 (please text) I will respond ASAP.
Sources: Freight News, TRADING ECONOMICS, Wikipedia and WWDPR Newswire
