Major Retailer Closes 120 SA Stores and Cuts R257m in Costs as Online Sales Surge
- The Foschini Group shut 120 stores across South Africa in its latest half-year period as it battles weak consumer spending
- TFG Africa still managed to grow retail turnover by 3.8% to R19.7 billion despite the closures and cost-cutting drive
- Online sales through the group's Bash platform jumped 53.3% to R2.2 billion, now making up over 10% of total African sales
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Source: Getty Images
The Foschini Group (TFG) is reshaping how it does business in South Africa, closing stores, cutting costs, and leaning heavily into digital retail as household budgets remain under pressure.
The retail group released its half-year financial results for the period ending September 2026, revealing a significant restructuring of its physical store network. TFG closed 120 stores across South Africa during the six-month period, with close to half of those located in central business districts where leases had expired and foot traffic no longer justified the cost. A further 60 to 80 stores are earmarked for closure in the second half of the financial year.
TFG Africa strips out hundreds of millions in costs
The group's African division pulled R257 million in structural costs from its operations during the period. Of that, R184 million came from store-level savings and R73 million from administrative cuts. The restructuring also freed up R190 million in working capital. Across the full year, TFG's cost reduction programme is targeting R854 million in total savings.
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Despite the pressure on South African consumers, TFG Africa held its ground. Retail turnover grew 3.8% to R19.7 billion, operating profit edged up 2.7% to around R1.7 billion, and the division gained 20 basis points of market share. The group is also adjusting pricing and markdown strategies across its brand portfolio, which includes Jet, The Fix, Markham, Sportscene, Totalsports, Foschini, @home, Sterns and American Swiss, to protect volumes among cost-conscious shoppers.
Bash platform drives digital growth
As physical stores contract, TFG's digital marketplace Bash is growing fast. South African online sales surged 53.3% to R2.2 billion, accounting for more than 10% of total African sales for the first time.
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The in-store digital tool BashStore, which lets staff place customer orders electronically for items not available on the floor, grew sales by 65.4% to R326 million. More than 191,000 customers placed their first online orders through in-store terminals, and over 779,000 shoppers browsed online before completing purchases in physical outlets.
TFG says its investment in digital infrastructure has helped it avoid roughly R1.3 billion in capital expenditure that would otherwise have gone into new store builds, a significant saving as the group navigates a retail environment defined by rising fuel prices and strained household incomes.
Source: Getty Images
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Source: Briefly News
