Big South African retailer hitting new records

The Foschini Group (TFG) recorded a solid performance for its 2025 financial year, as its store expansions and a UK acquisition boosted sales.

TFG is one of South Africa’s biggest clothing retailers and owns beloved brands like @home, Jet, American Swiss, Sportscene, and Total Sports. It operates in Africa, the UK, and Australia.

On Friday, 6 June, TFG released its results for the year ended 31 March 2025, which revealed a solid performance.

Group revenue was up 4.1% to a record R62.6 billion, while operating profit grew by 4.4% to a record R6.2 billion.

TFG’s basic earnings per share (EPS) grew by 4.9% to 980.6 cents per share, while profit for the year was R3.19 billion.

The retailer explained that an improved trading performance in the second half of the year by TFG Africa, supported by store expansions and the acquisition of White Stuff in the UK, saw group sales grow 3.6%. 

It said improved gross margins, and a continued focus on cost management by all business segments produced the  4.4% increase in operating profit.

TFG Africa grew sales by 7.0%, or 5.6% on a like-for-like basis, in the second half of the year as the base normalised from the prior year’s first half’s clearance activity.

This generated full-year growth of 3.7% (like-for-like: 3.2%). The retailer said particular strong growth ahead of the market has come from womenswear, beauty and jewellery.

Its more recently acquired businesses, Jet and Tapestry, also further accelerated sales and profit growth.

A standout performer in these results was the success of TFG’s online eCommerce platform, Bash, which saw online sales grow by 43.5% and now contributes 5.8% to total TFG Africa sales.

The retailer said this was driven by the continued strong performance of its Bash platform, which has moved into profitability two years ahead of expectation.

For its UK operations, TFG explained that, following the acquisition of White Stuff in October 2024, TFG London increased sales by 16,4% in GBP, and 8.6% lower on a comparable basis. 

“White Stuff continues to perform well ahead of the UK apparel market, with full-year sales growth of 20.3%,” the retailer said. 

“While the other brands within the UK segment were more impacted by the continued weak UK economy, Hobbs and Whistles are now experiencing positive sales growth into Spring/Summer.”

The addition of White Stuff to TFG’s portfolio saw store sales increase 11.8% and online sales grow 22.5%. Online sales now contribute 44.8% of total TFG London sales.

TFG Australia also continued to face challenging trading conditions with consumers under sustained cost-of-living pressure. 

Sales in this segment were 2.6% lower in AUD, with a mixed performance throughout the second half in a highly promotional market, impacted also by cyclone Alfred in the fourth quarter.

TFG declared a final gross cash dividend of 230.0 cents per ordinary share for the period ended 31 March 2025.