Top South African clothing retailer shut down 85 stores in seven months

The Foschini Group (TFG) continued its store rationalisation programme in the first half of its 2027 financial year, closing 85 stores over a 21-week period.

Over the same period, TFG reported weak sales growth across its operating regions, with group-wide growth of 0.2%.

However, its Bash platform continues to perform well, with online sales in the TFG Africa division growing by an impressive 54.1%.

This was revealed in a trading update that TFG released on Wednesday, 2 September. The update shed light on the retailer’s performance in the 21-week period from 29 March to 22 August 2026.

TFG reported that group sales lifted 0.2% to R23 billion, with online sales up 15.3% and now contributing 15.9% to total sales.

This relatively flat sales growth was driven by a 3.4% rise in TFG Africa sales and a 2.3% lift in TFG London sales, offset by a 4.7% decline in TFG Australia sales.

The retailer said TFG Australia is currently facing the toughest trading environment, with sales further impacted by the repositioning of its Tarocash brand.

TFG also provided an update on its store rationalisation programme in the TFG Africa division, which was detailed in its latest results for the 2026 financial year.

The group explained that it plans to close hundreds of loss-making stores to reduce the cost of doing business and improve the efficiency of its store portfolio. 

In the 2026 financial year alone, TFG closed 242 stores across its local and global operations.

Between 29 March and 22 August 2026, TFG closed 85 stores that it said were no longer economically viable. Over the same period, the retailer opened 25 new stores.

TFG said there are a further 80 stores that are likely to fall within closure parameters during the 2027 financial year, and another 100 stores during each of the following two financial years. 

“This consolidation is expected to enhance both profitability and return on capital,” the group said.