Prominent South African retailer announces cybersecurity incident

TFG London, a subsidiary of JSE-listed TFG, identified a cybersecurity incident that affected some of its IT systems.

This included the business’ Phase Eight, Hobbs, and Whistles brands. Its Inside Story and White Stuff brands were not affected.

TFG announced the incident on Tuesday, 13 October, saying the breach was identified on 11 October 2026.

“The Group immediately activated its incident response and business continuity plans,” the group said. 

“TFG London has engaged external cybersecurity specialists to contain the incident. The incident has been reported to the relevant UK authorities.”

The group said TFG London stores would remain open and trading, despite “several of its IT systems” remaining vulnerable.

TFG said its African and Australian operations run on separate systems and are not affected.

“The investigation is ongoing, including establishing whether any personal or other sensitive information has been compromised,” it said. 

“Should the investigation establish that such information has been compromised, TFG London will notify affected individuals or organisations, as appropriate.”

This breach comes roughly a month after TFG released a trading update about its performance in the 21-week period from 29 March to 22 August 2026.

At a group level, TFG reported a 0.2% increase in sales to R23 billion. This was driven by a 3.4% rise in TFG Africa’s sales and a 2.5% lift in TFG London’s.

These performances were offset by a 4.7% decline in TFG Australia’s sales.

TFG first acquired its London division in 2015, and today it operates across 649 outlets, 290 stores, and 359 concessions.

Its operations span across multiple countries, including the United States, Ireland, the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, the Netherlands, and Mexico.