{"id":652247,"date":"2026-06-05T11:53:55","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T09:53:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=652247"},"modified":"2026-06-05T11:55:59","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T09:55:59","slug":"ray-of-light-at-struggling-south-african-fashion-giant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/business\/652247-ray-of-light-at-struggling-south-african-fashion-giant.html","title":{"rendered":"Ray of light at struggling South African fashion giant"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Foschini Group (TFG) reported that its African online sales grew 49.2%, driven by the strength of its Bash e-commerce platform, amid a challenging global business environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In its condensed consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2026, TFG reported that online sales contributed 10% of total sales in the fourth quarter of 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bash was launched by South African e-commerce veterans Claude Hanan and Luke Jedeikin in July 2022, bringing all TFG brands under a single digital shop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TFG attributed much of Bash’s early success to forward thinking and being able to launch the platform at the right time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It said it recognised that online retail was still growing in South Africa when Bash was launched. Initially, it was expected that the platform would break even in three years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Instead, we reached that milestone in just 18 months,” the company said in a previous update. However, TFG also recognised that the market shifted quickly due to the rise of global competitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TFG began integrating Bash into its physical storefronts to increase sales further, and the integration was operational in 1,515 stores by 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the 2027\/28 financial year, the Bash store integration is expected to roll out to an additional 2,500 Foschini Group stores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TFG said the business would be worth R4.7 billion by 2029 and transform into a “true omnichannel retailer and platform player.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It said that the Bash delivery service handled over 1.5 million parcels annually, with 59% of orders delivered in under 48 hours at 34% cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The platform has benefited from significant investments in its technology to enhance service delivery and customer experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In terms of its global business, TFG said that its group online sales grew by 31.7% in the 2026 financial year and now contributed to 14.8% of total retail sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group has reported strong annual performance in its online sales business, even amid broader pressures on its other business segments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TFG facing headwinds<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Beyond online sales performance, the report showed the company facing significant headwinds across its business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Headline earnings, a metric used to gauge a company’s profitability, were down 33.5% to 675.4 cents per share. This is compared to 1,015.6 cents the year prior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TFG reported that the group’s operating profit before brand impairments and acquisition costs declined 22.1% year over year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was also forced to declare a dividend of 140 cents per share, down 39.1% compared to 230 cents per share in March 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Group performance was adversely affected by a weaker second half, as trading conditions deteriorated across all operating regions,” it said in the trading statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The impact of softer peak season demand and lower gross margins resulted in negative operating leverage.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While sales grew in Africa and the UK, Australian sales declined by 1.5% year over year, causing a 27.2% drop in EBIT for the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group’s UK business saw its earnings drop by 65.4%, impacted by weakness in the occasion wear category and disruptions arising from a cyber incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also said a key online concession partner was hit by a cyberattack that disrupted TFG London’s business, further contributing to the earnings slump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The outlook for TFG was grim across all of its markets, with headwinds expected in Africa, the UK and Australia heading into 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The South African macroeconomic environment remains challenging, with subdued economic growth and pressure on consumer disposable income continuing to constrain demand,” it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“In Australia, inflationary pressures and the recent interest rate increase are expected to weigh on consumer confidence and discretionary spending, which may temper any near-term recovery.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, TFG London was also experiencing a challenging retail environment in the UK, as the elevated cost of living weighs on consumer spending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Profitability will remain dependent on disciplined gross margin and cost management,” it said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TFG reported that its African online sales grew by 49.2% in the 2026 financial year, driven by the strength of its Bash e-commerce platform amid a challenging global business environment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341213,"featured_media":652258,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[79994,69353,105746,54639,69355,69351,30154],"class_list":["post-652247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-bash","tag-claude-hanan","tag-cyber-incident","tag-foschini","tag-luke-jedeikin","tag-tfg","tag-the-foschini-group"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652247"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/341213"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=652247"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652247\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":652274,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652247\/revisions\/652274"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/652258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=652247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=652247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=652247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}