The Foschini Group will close about 180 further stores over three financial years, roughly 80 in the year to March 2027 and about 100 across the two years to 2029, having already shut 100 in the year to March 2026. The group ended that year with 4,914 stores across 23 countries, of which more than 3,600 are in Africa and over 3,400 in South Africa. It has not disclosed a brand breakdown or job numbers.
The programme follows a year in which revenue rose 7.2% to R67.1bn but operating profit fell 22% to R4.9bn. Headline earnings per share declined 33.5% to 675.4c and basic earnings per share 58.1% to 411.2c after impairments of about R750m against the Australian and United Kingdom businesses. Gross margin at TFG Africa narrowed 100 basis points to 41.6% and divisional earnings before interest and tax fell 14.7% on negative operating leverage.
The trigger is less a collapse in demand than a change in the arithmetic. Online turnover exceeded 10% of TFG Africa sales in the year, against 3.1% in 2022. Bash, the group’s e-commerce platform launched in February 2023, grew 49% and now earns gross margins equivalent to the store estate. Chief executive Anthony Thunström has framed the additional R1.1bn in Bash sales as the equivalent of opening more than 100 stores, at roughly R500m in capital expenditure and inventory.
| Measure | FY2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | R67.1bn | +7.2% |
| Operating profit | R4.9bn | –22% |
| Headline earnings per share | 675.4c | –33.5% |
| Basic earnings per share | 411.2c | –58.1% |
| TFG Africa gross margin | 41.6% | –100bps |
| TFG Africa ebit | — | –14.7% |
| Bash sales growth | — | +49% |
| Online share of TFG Africa turnover | above 10% | from 3.1% in 2022 |
| Stores at year end | 4,914 | from 4,923 |
| Stores opened and closed | 233 and 242 | net –9 |
Once a rand of online revenue carries the same margin as a rand through a till, without the lease attached, the case for physical space narrows to the footfall a store can uniquely capture. TFG is converting selected store space into fulfilment capacity, using the remaining network to service online orders rather than only to sell.
The pace is set by property rather than strategy. Thunström has said the group’s leases typically run five years with a weighting towards two and a half years remaining, so only a portion of the estate can be addressed at any point. That constraint explains a programme staged over three years rather than a single restructuring.
The estate is also not contracting as quickly as the closure figures imply. In the year to March the group opened 233 stores and closed 242, a net reduction of nine, ending on 4,914 from 4,923 a year earlier. Closures have so far been offset by openings elsewhere in the portfolio.
Cost growth outpaced sales during the year, prompting the group to hold back R600m in capital expenditure and implement short-term savings across Africa, Australia and the United Kingdom. A separate initiative, Project Vela, folds marginal brands into leaner operating structures. Annual profit has fallen from R2.91bn in 2022 to R1.32bn.
TFG Africa contributes 68.3% of group turnover against 13.5% from Australia. Sales growth in the London and Australian divisions was flat or negative, with United Kingdom revenue supported by the acquisition of White Stuff. Domestically the group faces low economic growth, high unemployment and competition from Shein and Temu, while Truworths has overtaken it on market value.
Thunström has said the group is planning on consumer conditions remaining under pressure across each territory, and potentially deteriorating further until the Iran conflict is resolved and inflation cools. Turnover growth may be muted, with inventory and gross margins managed tightly. In the current year store sales have risen 0.2% while online sales have grown 54%.
TFG was founded in 1924 by George Ivan Rosenthal and opened its first store on Pritchard Street in Johannesburg in November 1925. It became the first clothing retailer to list on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in 1941, and was acquired by Stanley Lewis in 1958. It now operates 39 brands.