The Foschini Group Limited Overview
The Foschini Group Limited is a Cape Town-headquartered speciality retail holding company that has, over the course of a century, evolved from a single credit-based ladieswear chain into a three-territory, forty-brand omnichannel retail platform spanning apparel, homeware and furniture, beauty, jewellery, cellular and financial services. It is one of the five listed groups that together account for close to seventy per cent of South African apparel and footwear sales, and it is the only one of that group with a materially scaled operating presence in both the United Kingdom and Australia.
Employee count — conflicting sources. TFG's own H1 FY2026 corporate release (7 November 2025) states "over 47,500 employees." S&P Global Market Intelligence records 47,523 employees as at 31 March 2024. Revelio Labs workforce data records 43,630 as at December 2025, down 1.2% year on year. PitchBook records 50,923. The company's own figure is the most authoritative and is adopted here; the divergence most likely reflects differing treatment of part-time and seasonal store staff. A precise FY2026 headcount was not located in the sources reviewed and is flagged as not verified.
Positioning statement (150 words)
TFG occupies the aspirant middle-market of South African speciality retail, differentiated less by any single brand than by the platform beneath the brands: a proprietary credit book of ZAR 11.6 billion gross, a 40-million-member rewards ecosystem, a demand-led supply chain anchored on the 75,000 m² Riverfields distribution centre, a domestic manufacturing base supplying roughly 81% of local apparel, and Bash, the leading South African fashion e-commerce destination. That platform delivered a decade of compounding share gains. FY2026 exposed its cost of carry. Group revenue of ZAR 67.1 billion grew 7.2%, yet operational EBIT fell 22.1% and headline earnings per share fell 33.5% as gross margin compressed 120 basis points and expenses grew 10.7%. Two-thirds of turnover sits in a South African consumer economy in per-capita contraction; the international third is impaired. TFG is now a restructuring story: capital-light omnichannel growth, roughly 300 marginal stores under review, and a structurally lower cost base.
The company's own description
In the Integrated Annual Report 2025 TFG describes itself as a leading fashion, lifestyle and speciality retail group in South Africa, established in 1924, with an increasing presence in the United Kingdom and Australia, offering fashion apparel, jewellery, cosmetics, sporting apparel, electronics, homeware and furniture and value-added services, with credit account facilities available in TFG Africa. The Group Annual Financial Statements for March 2026 describe TFG as the holding company of a diverse group with a portfolio of forty leading fashion and lifestyle retail brands serving value to upper-market customer segments. The company positions itself as an agent of national economic development, citing job creation, industrialisation and support for the National Development Plan.
Independent characterisation
TFG is best understood not as a clothing retailer but as a vertically integrated consumer platform with three revenue engines, only one of which is conventional merchandise retail.
Engine one — merchandise retail. The core: buying, and in South Africa substantially manufacturing, apparel, homeware, beauty, jewellery and cellular products and selling them through 4,914 stores and concessions and through owned and third-party digital channels. This generated retail turnover of ZAR 62.4 billion in FY2026 at a group gross margin of 48.2%. The blended margin is unusually high for apparel because it mixes the low-40s margins of the South African value and mass business with the 60-plus per cent margins of the UK and Australian branded businesses.
Engine two — consumer credit and financial services. Confined to TFG Africa, this is a licensed lending and insurance operation embedded inside the retail network. It contributed ZAR 3,040 million of revenue in FY2026 — interest income of ZAR 2,009 million on the retail book plus insurance revenue of ZAR 392 million and value-added-service and collection-fee income — and segmental profit before tax of ZAR 616 million. Credit sales were ZAR 11,006 million, 25.8% of TFG Africa turnover. Economically this is a subprime-adjacent unsecured lending book with a gross-book allowance for impairment of 18.6% and a net bad debt charge equal to 14.6% of the gross book. It is both a margin enhancer and the group's principal balance-sheet risk.
Engine three — value-added services and platform monetisation. Cellular airtime and device sales, prepaid utilities, insurance attachment, and the Bash marketplace. Value-added services generated ZAR 1,061 million of other income in FY2026, up 11.8%, and Bashstore device sales alone exceeded ZAR 500 million.
Revenue model mix. Product sales dominate at approximately 93% of revenue (retail turnover ZAR 62,423 million of ZAR 67,070 million). Interest income is 3.2%, other income 3.2% and insurance revenue 0.6%. There is no subscription revenue. Licensing runs inbound rather than outbound — TFG pays franchise royalties to G-Star RAW, JD Sports, Charles & Keith and others rather than earning them.
Value chain position. TFG is unusually far up its own value chain by retail standards. TFG Design & Manufacturing, built around the Prestige Clothing business acquired in 2012 and the expanded Caledon factory, allows roughly 81% of TFG Africa apparel to be locally produced and roughly 50% of furniture to be locally manufactured, largely through the vertically integrated Tapestry businesses. This confers replenishment speed — 2.6 days versus a prior 4.6 days — availability of 92% versus a prior 85%, and reduced exposure to freight disruption, at the cost of fixed manufacturing overhead that becomes a drag when volumes fall, as they did in FY2026.
Customer types and end markets. Overwhelmingly B2C. In South Africa the core customer is the aspirant middle class, precisely the cohort most exposed to real income compression and to competition from both value retailers below and cross-border digital platforms alongside. In the UK the customer is a mature female occasionwear and casual-lifestyle shopper reached roughly half through department-store and online concession partners. In Australia the customer is predominantly male, value to mid-market. End markets served: womenswear, menswear, kidswear, footwear, sportswear and activewear, jewellery and watches, beauty and cosmetics, homeware, furniture and bedding, cellular handsets and airtime, and consumer credit and insurance.
Financial Narrative
6.1 Income statement
Notes on blanks and derivations: FY2022 revenue and FY2023 revenue are as stated in the FY2023 SENS. FY2022 retail turnover is derived from the disclosed 19.4% FY2023 growth. FY2022 and FY2023 gross profit are derived from disclosed gross margins of 48.5% and 47.9% applied to retail turnover. FY2022 reported EBIT is derived from the disclosed 12.4% FY2023 growth to ZAR 5.4 billion. FY2022 profit after tax is derived from the disclosed 4.0% FY2023 growth. FY2023 headline earnings is derived from the disclosed 0.8% FY2024 growth to ZAR 3.1 billion. FY2022 and FY2023 cost of turnover, interest income, other income, insurance revenue, net bad debt, trading expenses, EBITDA, finance costs, profit before tax and tax were not disclosed in the short-form announcements reviewed and the full FY2022 and FY2023 annual financial statements were not accessed.
6.2 Per-share and distribution metrics
Notes: FY2022 final dividend derived from the disclosed 54.5% FY2023 decrease. FY2022 and FY2023 interim and total dividends were not verified in the sources reviewed. FY2024 and FY2025 interim dividends derived as total less final.
6.3 Margins and returns
6.4 Balance sheet
Notes: FY2022 and FY2023 balance sheet detail beyond pre-IFRS 16 net debt was not disclosed in the short-form SENS announcements reviewed.
6.5 Cash flow
Note: free cash flow as presented deducts capex from cash generated from operations and does not deduct lease capital payments, which under IFRS 16 sit in financing activities. Deducting lease payments gives adjusted free cash flow of ZAR 4,026 million for FY2026, ZAR 3,427 million for FY2025 and ZAR 6,164 million for FY2024.
6.6 Ratio analysis
Note: a conventional cash conversion cycle is not meaningful for TFG because retail trade receivables are a revolving credit book, not trade credit. Receivable days on the retail credit book measured against credit sales are 313 days for FY2026; measured against total retail turnover they are 55 days. Using the latter, the FY2026 cash conversion cycle approximates 123 days, against 129 days in FY2025 and 106 days in FY2024.
6.7 Growth rates
Revenue CAGR FY2022 to FY2026: 9.8%. Retail turnover CAGR FY2022 to FY2026: 9.5%. Headline earnings per share CAGR FY2022 to FY2026: negative 9.6%. The single most important observation in this dossier is contained in that pair: TFG compounded the top line at close to ten per cent through the period while headline earnings per share compounded backwards.
6.8 Commentary on trends, inflections and drivers
FY2022 — post-pandemic recovery peak. Revenue of ZAR 46.2 billion at a 48.5% gross margin and headline earnings per share of 1,009.0 cents, the highest of the five-year window. Pre-IFRS 16 net debt of ZAR 1.0 billion and leverage of 0.2 times represented the strongest balance sheet position of the period. Capex was restrained at ZAR 1.6 billion and dividends at ZAR 0.6 billion.
FY2023 — the load-shedding year and the leverage inflection. Retail turnover grew 19.4% to ZAR 51.8 billion, flattered by the Tapestry acquisition; underlying growth was 15.2%. TFG Africa lost approximately 360,000 trading hours conservatively measured, with the true demand impact estimated at more than double that. Management estimated the revenue impact at over ZAR 1.5 billion, with a concomitant hit to gross margin, which fell 220 basis points in TFG Africa and 60 basis points at group level. Approximately ZAR 200 million of unbudgeted capital went into back-up power, reaching 1,875 stores representing about 75% of Africa turnover. Simultaneously the balance sheet levered sharply: the ZAR 2.2 billion Tapestry acquisition, ZAR 3.0 billion of capex and ZAR 1.6 billion of dividends took pre-IFRS 16 net debt from ZAR 1.0 billion to ZAR 7.1 billion and leverage from 0.2 to 1.2 times in a single year. Headline earnings per share fell 4.0%. This was the year TFG's balance sheet optionality was spent.
FY2024 — consolidation and cash repair. Management explicitly framed FY2024 as a year of consolidation focused on operating leverage. It worked on the cash line: cash generated from operations rose 76.5% to ZAR 12.5 billion, inventory fell 11.6%, and pre-IFRS 16 net debt fell 31.3% to ZAR 4.9 billion. Earnings were flat — headline earnings per share up 0.2%, basic earnings per share down 0.4% — as TFG London turnover fell 4.2% in sterling and TFG Australia fell 5.6% in Australian dollars against exceptional post-COVID comparatives.
FY2025 — the record year and the peak of the platform narrative. Revenue rose 4.1% to ZAR 62.6 billion, gross margin expanded 150 basis points to 49.4%, and operating profit reached a record ZAR 6.2 billion. TFG Africa delivered operating profit growth of 12.3% on turnover growth of 3.7% — genuine operating leverage — with a second half in which Africa turnover grew 7.0% and Africa EBIT grew 16.7%. Every Africa stack delivered profit growth. Bash reached profitability two years early. The total dividend rose 11.4% to 390 cents. Net debt rose to ZAR 6.8 billion on the White Stuff acquisition and inventory normalisation, taking leverage to 1.00 times. The four-year TFG Africa CAGRs to FY2025 were turnover 15.4%, gross profit 16.2% and EBIT 16.0%.
FY2026 — the inflection. The reversal was severe and near-simultaneous across all three territories. Revenue grew 7.2% to ZAR 67.1 billion, but almost all of the growth was inorganic: excluding White Stuff, group sales grew 2.8%. Gross margin fell 120 basis points to 48.2%. Trading expenses grew 10.7% against gross profit growth of 4.5%, producing severe negative operating leverage: operational EBIT fell 22.1% to ZAR 4.9 billion and the operational EBIT margin fell 300 basis points to 7.9%. The decline accelerated through the year — group EBIT fell 9.9% in the first half and 30.3% in the second, with the festive quarter, which normally generates more than half of annual African profit, sharply weaker than planned.
Four specific drivers explain the shape of the FY2026 result. First, TFG Africa store economics broke: store gross profit fell 0.6% on turnover growth of 2.3%, and store EBIT fell 22.3%. Second, credit quality deteriorated: net bad debt rose 22.0% to ZAR 1,694 million, gross write-offs grew 12.9% against a 1.6% decline the prior year, the expected credit loss provision charge was ZAR 159 million higher, and the provision ratio rose from 17.9% to 18.6%. Third, interest income was structurally compressed: interest income of ZAR 2.0 billion grew only 1.4% on a book that grew 5.5%, because South African policy rates fell. Fourth, the international portfolio was impaired: ZAR 1,019 million against Phase Eight, Tarocash and yd., driving basic earnings per share down 58.1% against headline earnings per share down 33.5%.
Leverage rose to 1.44 times pre-IFRS 16, the highest of the period, and return on capital employed fell from 14.8% to 10.9%. Against this, cash generation held up: cash generated from operations rose 11.2% to ZAR 10.7 billion, working capital absorption fell from ZAR 2,761 million to ZAR 834 million, inventory grew only 1.7%, and the group funded a ZAR 1.0 billion buyback alongside a ZAR 1.2 billion dividend. All covenant ratios were complied with.
7. SEGMENTAL AND GEOGRAPHIC REVENUE MAPPING
Geographic revenue as disclosed in the IFRS segmental note
Note: TFG discloses a three-year geographic split only from FY2025, when E-commerce was first carved out as a discrete geography. A FY2024 comparative on the same basis was not disclosed in the sources reviewed. Country-level revenue below the aggregations above is not disclosed.
Non-current assets by geography
The UK non-current asset base fell 13.2% and Australia 4.6% — a direct consequence of the brand impairments and store closures.
Revenue by merchandise category and segment, FY2026 (ZAR m)
Merchandise category growth, TFG Africa
Fastest-growing and declining regions, with causes
Fastest growing: United Kingdom and Ireland, plus 42.3%. Entirely attributable to the annualisation of White Stuff, acquired 25 October 2024 and therefore present for approximately five months of FY2025 versus twelve of FY2026. Excluding White Stuff, TFG London turnover in sterling was precisely flat, and gross margin in the legacy portfolio fell 440 basis points. The growth is acquisitive, not organic.
Second fastest: E-commerce worldwide, plus 31.7%, driven principally by TFG Africa online growth of 49.2% and by White Stuff's high online mix. TFG London runs approximately 50% online.
Declining: Rest of the world, minus 9.9%, reflecting the contraction of TFG London's international concession estate. The group's country count fell from 23 at FY2025 to 18 at FY2026, with the Middle East concession estate — the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain — no longer appearing in the FY2026 footprint disclosure, and Germany falling from 22 stores to 4.
Declining: Australia, minus 4.7% in rand, compounding a 1.5% local-currency turnover decline with a weaker Australian dollar cross rate (AUD 1 = ZAR 11.46 in FY2026 versus ZAR 11.91 in FY2025). Australian like-for-like sales fell 3.4%, so all reported growth support came from new stores.
Modest: South Africa, plus 3.0%, below reported TFG Africa turnover growth of 5.0% because online revenue is stripped into the E-commerce geography. TFG Africa like-for-like growth was 3.5%.
Financial Detail
Financial Analysis
| Metric | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Revenue (ZAR m) | 46200 | 55100 | 60122 | 62558 | 67070 |
Retail turnover (ZAR m) | 43400 | 51800 | 56221 | 58271 | 62423 |
Cost of turnover (ZAR m) | 29266 | 29505 | 32366 | ||
Gross profit (ZAR m) | 21049 | 24812 | 26955 | 28766 | 30057 |
Interest income (ZAR m) | 2075 | 2128 | 2132 | ||
Other income (ZAR m) | 1579 | 1875 | 2123 | ||
Insurance revenue (ZAR m) | 247 | 284 | 392 | ||
Net bad debt (ZAR m) | 1394 | 1388 | 1694 | ||
Trading expenses (ZAR m) | 23394 | 25209 | 27908 | ||
Operational EBIT before impairments and acquisition costs (ZAR m) | 5957 | 6334 | 4935 | ||
Reported EBIT after impairments (ZAR m) | 4804 | 5400 | 5945 | 6208 | 3916 |
EBITDA post-IFRS 16 (ZAR m) | 11578 | 12140 | 10264 | ||
EBITDA pre-IFRS 16 (ZAR m) | 6781 | 4509 | |||
Finance costs (ZAR m) | 1770 | 1884 | 2051 | ||
Profit before tax (ZAR m) | 4175 | 4324 | 1865 | ||
Income tax (ZAR m) | 1144 | 1135 | 549 | ||
Profit after tax (ZAR m) | 2885 | 3000 | 3031 | 3189 | 1316 |
Headline earnings (ZAR m) | 3075 | 3100 | 3303 | 2162 |
Financial Analysis
| Metric | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Basic earnings per share (ZAR cents) | 901.9 | 938.5 | 934.7 | 980.6 | 411.2 |
Headline earnings per share (ZAR cents) | 1009.0 | 968.9 | 970.7 | 1015.6 | 675.4 |
Diluted basic earnings per share (ZAR cents) | 972.4 | 408.6 | |||
Diluted headline earnings per share (ZAR cents) | 1007.1 | 671.2 | |||
Interim dividend per share (ZAR cents) | 150.0 | 160.0 | 130.0 | ||
Final dividend per share (ZAR cents) | 330.0 | 150.0 | 200.0 | 230.0 | 140.0 |
Total dividend per share (ZAR cents) | 350.0 | 390.0 | 270.0 | ||
Preference dividend per share (ZAR cents, semi-annual) | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 |
Financial Analysis
| Metric | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gross margin (%) | 48.5 | 47.9 | 47.9 | 49.4 | 48.2 |
Operational EBIT margin on retail turnover (%) | 10.6 | 10.7 | 7.9 | ||
Reported EBIT margin on revenue (%) | 10.4 | 9.8 | 9.9 | 9.9 | 5.8 |
EBITDA margin on revenue, post-IFRS 16 (%) | 19.3 | 19.4 | 15.3 | ||
Net margin on revenue (%) | 6.2 | 5.4 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 2.0 |
Effective tax rate (%) | 27.4 | 26.2 | 29.4 | ||
Trading expenses as a percentage of retail turnover (%) | 41.4 | 41.3 | 41.6 | 43.3 | 44.7 |
Financial Analysis
| Metric | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total assets (ZAR m) | 54162 | 59664 | 60205 | ||
Total equity (ZAR m) | 24141 | 25609 | 24907 | ||
Total liabilities (ZAR m) | 30021 | 34055 | 35298 | ||
Cash and cash equivalents (ZAR m) | 3775 | 3228 | 3117 | ||
Interest-bearing debt, current (ZAR m) | 2717 | 2372 | 3474 | ||
Interest-bearing debt, non-current (ZAR m) | 5953 | 7662 | 7605 | ||
Total interest-bearing debt (ZAR m) | 8670 | 10034 | 11079 | ||
Lease liabilities, total (ZAR m) | 12139 | 13363 | 14000 | ||
Net debt, pre-IFRS 16 (ZAR bn) | 1.0 | 7.1 | 4.9 | 6.8 | 8.0 |
Goodwill and intangible assets (ZAR m) | 10259 | 10940 | 9895 | ||
Property, plant and equipment (ZAR m) | 5923 | 6524 | 6824 | ||
Right-of-use assets (ZAR m) | 10811 | 11747 | 12136 | ||
Inventory (ZAR m) | 11560 | 14293 | 14529 | ||
Trade receivables, retail, net (ZAR m) | 8325 | 8936 | 9424 | ||
Net working capital (ZAR m) | 10872 | 12411 | 12060 |
Financial Analysis
| Metric | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cash generated from operations (ZAR m) | 8200 | 7100 | 12539 | 9644 | 10727 |
Net cash from operating activities, after interest, tax and dividends (ZAR m) | 8714 | 5751 | 6616 | ||
Capital expenditure on PPE and intangibles (ZAR m) | 1600 | 3000 | 2005 | 1803 | 1997 |
Free cash flow, operations less capex (ZAR m) | 6600 | 4100 | 10534 | 7841 | 8730 |
Lease liability capital payments (ZAR m) | 4370 | 4414 | 4704 | ||
Dividends paid (ZAR m) | 600 | 1600 | 984 | 1183 | 1182 |
Treasury shares purchased (ZAR m) | 4 | 325 | 1021 | ||
Business acquisitions, net of cash acquired (ZAR m) | 151 | 1044 | 0 | ||
Borrowings raised (ZAR m) | 1394 | 9212 | |||
Borrowings repaid (ZAR m) | 53 | 8096 |
Financial Analysis
| Metric | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Return on equity, profit after tax on average equity (%) | 12.8 | 5.2 | |||
Return on assets, profit after tax on average total assets (%) | 5.6 | 2.2 | |||
Return on capital employed excluding goodwill, as reported by TFG (%) | 14.6 | 14.5 | 10.9 | ||
Current ratio (times) | 1.75 | 1.78 | 1.71 | ||
Interest-bearing debt to equity (times) | 0.36 | 0.39 | 0.44 | ||
Total debt including lease liabilities to equity (times) | 0.86 | 0.91 | 1.01 | ||
Net debt to EBITDA, pre-IFRS 16 (times) | 0.2 | 1.2 | 0.76 | 1.00 | 1.44 |
Interest coverage, reported EBIT on finance costs (times) | 3.36 | 3.30 | 1.91 | ||
Interest coverage, operational EBIT on finance costs (times) | 3.37 | 3.36 | 2.41 | ||
Asset turnover, revenue on average total assets (times) | 1.10 | 1.12 | |||
Inventory turn, as reported (times) | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.3 | ||
Inventory days on cost of turnover (days) | 144 | 177 | 164 | ||
Payable days on cost of turnover (days) | 93 | 108 | 96 |
Financial Analysis
| Metric | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Revenue growth (%) | 19.4 | 8.9 | 4.1 | 7.2 |
Retail turnover growth (%) | 19.4 | 8.6 | 3.6 | 7.1 |
Gross profit growth (%) | 17.9 | 8.6 | 6.7 | 4.5 |
Reported EBIT growth (%) | 12.4 | 10.1 | 4.4 | -36.9 |
Operational EBIT growth (%) | 6.3 | -22.1 | ||
Profit after tax growth (%) | 4.0 | 1.0 | 5.2 | -58.7 |
Headline earnings per share growth (%) | -4.0 | 0.2 | 4.6 | -33.5 |
Total dividend per share growth (%) | 11.4 | -30.8 |
Financial Analysis
| Region | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|
South Africa (ZAR m) | 40398 | 41610 |
Rest of Africa (ZAR m) | 2140 | 2159 |
United Kingdom and Ireland (ZAR m) | 3742 | 5323 |
Australia (ZAR m) | 7638 | 7281 |
Rest of the world (ZAR m) | 1631 | 1469 |
E-commerce, worldwide (ZAR m) | 7009 | 9228 |
Total (ZAR m) | 62558 | 67070 |
Financial Analysis
| Region growth | FY2026 growth % | FY2026 share of revenue % |
|---|---|---|
South Africa | 3.0 | 62.0 |
Rest of Africa | 0.9 | 3.2 |
United Kingdom and Ireland | 42.3 | 7.9 |
Australia | -4.7 | 10.9 |
Rest of the world | -9.9 | 2.2 |
E-commerce, worldwide | 31.7 | 13.8 |
Financial Analysis
| Region | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|
South Africa (ZAR m) | 16509 | 17237 |
Rest of Africa (ZAR m) | 456 | 478 |
United Kingdom and Ireland (ZAR m) | 5335 | 4629 |
Australia (ZAR m) | 6307 | 6016 |
Rest of the world (ZAR m) | 604 | 495 |
Total (ZAR m) | 29211 | 28855 |
Financial Analysis
| Merchandise category | TFG Africa | TFG London | TFG Australia | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Clothing | 30421 | 11344 | 8418 | 50183 |
Homeware and furniture | 6261 | 12 | 0 | 6273 |
Beauty | 1461 | 0 | 0 | 1461 |
Jewellery | 1593 | 0 | 0 | 1593 |
Cellular | 2913 | 0 | 0 | 2913 |
Total retail turnover | 42649 | 11356 | 8418 | 62423 |
Financial Analysis
| Category | FY2026 growth % | Share of TFG Africa turnover % |
|---|---|---|
Clothing | 3.9 | 71.4 |
Homeware and furniture | 8.7 | 14.7 |
Beauty | 21.5 | 3.4 |
Jewellery | 3.9 | 3.7 |
Cellular | 2.0 | 6.8 |
Total | 5.0 | 100.0 |
Capital Markets
| Date | Price (ZAR per share) | Source context |
|---|---|---|
13 Jan 2025 | 158.25 | Cycle high reference |
6 Jun 2025 | 136.58 | FY2025 results day, up 1.93% |
11 Aug 2025 | up to 108.48 | Director purchase |
15 Aug 2025 | market capitalisation ZAR 34.99 billion | One year ago; down 20.6% year on year at that date |
Sep–Nov 2025 | 105.87 average | Buyback execution price for 9.68 million shares |
12 Jan 2026 | 84.44 | Down 46.6% on a year earlier |
1 Jan 2026 | 83.95 | Start of calendar 2026 |
8 May 2026 | 69.16 | Trading statement day, down 3.12% |
30 Jun 2026 | approximately 62.00 | CEO share disposal |
27 Jul 2026 | 52.42 | Closing price |
28 Jul 2026 | 53.86 to 53.94 | Intraday |
3 Aug 2026 | 57.17 | Up 1.04% |
Capital Markets
| Performance measure | TFG | Comparator context |
|---|---|---|
Year to date 2026 (%) | -32 to -37.6 | Pepkor -20, Truworths -6 to -12, Woolworths -14, Mr Price -1 to -2, Shoprite +5 |
Twelve months (%) | -52 | Mr Price, Pepkor and Truworths each -18 to -23; Shoprite +8.5 |
Three years | Not verified | — |
Five years | Not verified | — |
Since 26 Jan 1989 | Market capitalisation from ZAR 426.84 million to a 2025 peak, a 12.80% compound annual growth rate to August 2025 | — |
Capital Markets
| Metric | Value | Basis |
|---|---|---|
Market capitalisation (ZAR bn) | 17.1 to 18.9 | Late July to early August 2026 |
Share price (ZAR) | 52.42 to 57.17 | Late July to early August 2026 |
Price to headline earnings (times) | 7.8 to 8.5 | On FY2026 HEPS of 675.4c |
Price to basic earnings (times) | 12.8 to 13.9 | On FY2026 EPS of 411.2c |
Price to book (times) | 0.69 to 0.76 | On FY2026 equity of ZAR 24,907 million |
Enterprise value (ZAR bn) | 25.1 to 26.9 | Market capitalisation plus pre-IFRS 16 net debt of ZAR 8.0 billion |
EV to EBITDA, pre-IFRS 16 (times) | 5.6 to 6.0 | On FY2026 pre-IFRS 16 EBITDA of ZAR 4,509 million |
EV to EBITDA, post-IFRS 16 (times) | 2.4 to 2.6 | On FY2026 EBITDA of ZAR 10,264 million; not comparable to the pre-IFRS 16 measure |
EV to sales (times) | 0.40 to 0.43 | On FY2026 retail turnover of ZAR 62,423 million |
Dividend yield (%) | 4.7 to 5.2 | On FY2026 total dividend of 270.0c |
Dividend cover on HEPS (times) | 2.5 | 675.4c on 270.0c |
Capital Markets
| Metric | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total dividend per share (ZAR cents) | 350.0 | 390.0 | 270.0 | ||
Final dividend per share (ZAR cents) | 330.0 | 150.0 | 200.0 | 230.0 | 140.0 |
Dividends paid, cash flow (ZAR m) | 600 | 1600 | 984 | 1183 | 1182 |
Capital Markets
| Debt maturity (ZAR bn) | FY2027 | FY2028 | FY2029 | FY2030 | FY2031 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
TFG Africa | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 2.7 |
TFG London | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
Total | 0.6 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 2.2 | 2.7 |
Capital Markets
| Metric | Africa | London | Australia |
|---|---|---|---|
Sales growth, nine weeks to 30 May 2026 (%) | 2.2 | 1.7 | -2.3 |
April 2026 sales growth (%) | 2.2 | -3.6 | -2.2 |
May 2026 sales growth (%) | 2.2 | 8.9 | -2.4 |
Gross margin improvement, early FY2027 (bps) | 80 | 130 | 100 |
Capital Markets
| Date or period | Item | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
3 Sep 2026 | Annual General Meeting | Remuneration policy and implementation report votes following a 58% EPS decline; board composition post the Stein and Friedland retirements; renewal of the general repurchase authority after a value-destructive buyback |
Sep–Oct 2026 | Q1 and Q2 FY2027 trading updates | Whether the approximately 100 basis point gross margin improvement holds through winter clearance, and whether TFG Africa can sustain growth above 2.2% |
6 Nov 2026 | H1 FY2027 interim results | The first clean read on the cost programme; watch the trading expense growth rate against gross profit growth, the Financial Services net bad debt ratio, and the online contribution to TFG Africa |
Ongoing | Store closure execution | Progress against the 300-store review and the 100-closure FY2027 target; closure costs, lease exit provisions and any further right-of-use impairment |
Ongoing | Phase Eight restructuring | Management committed to accelerated right-sizing within twelve months of June 2026; a second impairment would be materially damaging to credibility |
Ongoing | New Zealand review | A disposal or exit would be the first structural portfolio action in Australia |
Ongoing | Financial Services leadership and Fintech direction | Whether TFG can articulate a Fintech proposition comparable to Pepkor's ZAR 21.3 billion FintechCo construct from an arguably richer customer base |
Ongoing | JD Sports roll-out cadence | Five stores against a fifty-store ambition; the highest-return format in the group |
Ongoing | South African rate path and household credit health | Lower rates compress credit yield while supporting demand — the net effect on Financial Services EBIT is the key swing factor |
Ongoing | Cross-border import duty policy | Any tightening of low-value parcel treatment would be a direct positive to TFG's competitive position |
Executive Leadership
| Name | Role | Appointed | Age | Qualifications | Prior roles and other directorships |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Michael Lewis | Chairman, Non-executive Director | 1989 | 67 | BA (Econ) (Hons) | Chairman of Strandbags Holdings (Australia) including Antler, and Oceana Investment Corporation (UK); director of UTB Partners (UK); formerly Axel Springer AG supervisory board and Cheyne Capital Management board; earlier at Ivory & Sime and Lombard Odier. Reclassified from independent to non-executive June 2025 |
Graham Davin | Lead Independent Director | 2015 | 70 | BCom, BAcc, CA (SA), MBA | Deputy Chair of United Trust Bank; 16 years a director of Investec Bank; director of Bank Insinger de Beaufort; led the management buyout of United Trust Bank and was its CEO for 17 years. Chair of Nomination and Finance Committees, member of Audit Committee |
Anthony Thunström | Chief Executive Officer, Executive Director | 2015 (CEO from 2018) | 56 | BCom (Hons Acc), CA (SA) | Joined TFG as CFO in 2015; 21 years in professional services. Member of Risk, Social and Ethics, and Finance Committees |
Ralph Buddle | Chief Financial Officer, Executive Director | 2024 | 59 | CA (SA) | Joined TFG September 2023, appointed CFO effective 1 April 2024; previously interim CFO of Oceana Group and director of strategy and business development at Woolworths Holdings. Member of Risk and Finance Committees |
Jan Potgieter | Independent Non-executive Director | 2023 | 57 | BCompt (Hons), CTA, CA (SA), programmes at Michigan, Monash and INSEAD | Former CEO of Italtile and of Massdiscounters (Massmart); business manager at Clover SA; eight years in senior finance roles at SABMiller; NED of Motus Holdings. Chair of Audit Committee from June 2025 |
Nkululeko Sowazi | Independent Non-executive Director | 2024 | 63 | BA, MA (Planning) | Executive Chairman and co-founder of Tiso Investment Holdings; Chairman of Sappi; lead independent director of Grindrod; NED of MTN. Chair of Remuneration Committee |
Colin Coleman | Independent Non-executive Director | 2020 | 63 | BA (Architecture) | Former CEO Sub-Saharan Africa of Goldman Sachs to 2019; partner from 2010; NED of Youth Employment Service; Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council. Member of Remuneration and Finance Committees |
Gcina Cecil Zondi | Independent Non-executive Director | 2025 | 53 | BCompt (Hons), AGA (SA) | Founding Chief Executive of Imbewu Capital Partners; six years at Nedbank Capital Private Equity; NED of RCL Foods, Isegen SA, NPC InterCement and others. Chair of Risk Committee |
Bridgitte Backman | Independent Non-executive Director | 2025 | 63 | BSc (Chemistry), MBA (Rotterdam) | Former Deputy Commissioner at SARS; board member of UN Global Compact South Africa; Visiting Fellow at Saïd Business School, Oxford; NED of Astral Foods. Chair of Social and Ethics Committee from 1 July 2026 |
Mamongae Mahlare | Independent Non-executive Director | 1 July 2026 | 51 | BSc Eng (Chemical) (Wits), MBA (Harvard) | Former Executive Chairperson and Group CEO of Takealot Group; former MD of Illovo Sugar South Africa; boards of OUTsurance Group, Oceana Group and Wits University Foundation |
Boitumelo Makgabo-Fiskerstrand | Non-executive Director | 2012 | 51 | BA (International Relations) | WEF Young Global Leader; former head of international relations and communications for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee. Member of Social and Ethics and Risk Committees |
Eddy Oblowitz | Non-executive Director | 2010 | 69 | BCom, CA (SA), CPA (Isr) | 21 years in practice, senior partner of Arthur Andersen Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth; Principal at Contineo Financial Services; trustee and NED roles including Fortress Real Estate and Trencor. Stepped down as Audit Committee chair June 2025; reclassified to non-executive June 2025 |
Ronnie Stein | Non-executive Director | 2015 | 77 | BCom, CA (SA) | Former Group CFO of TFG, retiring from that role June 2015 after 19 years; previously partner at Kessel Feinstein for 15 years. Reclassified to non-executive June 2025. Retiring from the Board 3 September 2026 |
David Friedland | Non-executive Director | 2013 | 72 | BCom, CA (SA) | International partner at Arthur Andersen from 1990; partner at KPMG from 2002 and head of Audit and Risk at KPMG Cape Town; former NED of Investec and Pick n Pay Stores. Retiring from the Board 3 September 2026 |
| Name | Role | Joined / appointed | Background |
|---|---|---|---|
Anthony Thunström | Group Chief Executive Officer | 2015 / CEO 2018 | See above |
Ralph Buddle | Group Chief Financial Officer | 2023 / CFO 2024 | See above |
Stuart Baird | Group Chief Retail Officer | 1989, Operating Board 2014 | Joined as a graduate trainee; oversees all clothing divisions, Design and Manufacturing, Group Supply Chain, VAS and Hi, and TFG London |
Shani Naidoo | Group Chief Retail Officer | 1990, Operating Board 2006 | Former Chief Human Resources Officer, MD of Home Division, MD of Jewellery Division; Head of Customer and Loyalty from 2021; responsible for Rest of Africa operations from 2023 |
Jacques de Kock | Chief Operating Officer, TFG Africa | 2020, COO 2026 | Engineering degree and MBA; previously Head of Supply Chain and IT at Clicks, CIO of Habitat; co-founder of two AI ventures. Portfolio spans Bash, Financial Services, Mobile, Supply Chain and Store Enablement across approximately 3,500 stores |
Senta Morley | Chief People and Culture Officer | 1996, Operating Board 2017 | 33 years in HR leadership across the group's three territories |
Vusiwe Nkomo | Chief Information and Logistics Officer | 2021, Operating Board 2025 | Age 49; BCom (Hons IS), two MBAs, MSc Supply Chain and Logistics; joined as CTO Customer and Insights, CIO TFG Africa from 2022; mandate now spans logistics, facilities and cybersecurity across all three territories |
Justin Hampshire | Chief Executive Officer, TFG London | Presented at FY2025 results | — |
Emma Mackrill | Chief Financial Officer, TFG London | Presented at FY2025 results | — |
Dean Zanapalis | Chief Executive Officer, TFG Australia | Presented at FY2025 results | — |
Troy Wilson | Chief Financial Officer, TFG Australia | Presented at FY2025 results | — |
Jane Fisher | Group Director, TFG Africa Credit | Presented at FY2025 results | — |
Nirvani Dhevcharran | Chief Technology Officer, Platforms and Operations | Per third-party source | Not confirmed in company sources reviewed |
| Committee | Chair | Members |
|---|---|---|
Audit | Jan Potgieter | Graham Davin, Gcina Zondi |
Risk | Gcina Zondi | Anthony Thunström, Ralph Buddle, David Friedland, Boitumelo Makgabo-Fiskerstrand, Eddy Oblowitz, Jan Potgieter |
Remuneration | Nkululeko Sowazi | Michael Lewis, Colin Coleman |
Nomination | Graham Davin | Michael Lewis, Nkululeko Sowazi |
Social and Ethics | Bridgitte Backman (from 1 July 2026) | Gcina Zondi, Boitumelo Makgabo-Fiskerstrand, Anthony Thunström |
Finance | Graham Davin | Anthony Thunström, Ralph Buddle, Colin Coleman, David Friedland, Eddy Oblowitz, Jan Potgieter, Nkululeko Sowazi, Gcina Zondi |
| Metric | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|
CEO guaranteed pay (ZAR m) | 16.54 | 17.37 |
CEO short-term cash bonus (ZAR m) | 10.86 | 0.00 |
CEO long-term share incentives (ZAR m) | 16.29 | 0.00 |
CEO total single-figure remuneration (ZAR m) | 44.80 | 18.50 |
Single Incentive Plan formula outcome (%) | 86.4 | 38.3 |
| Shareholder | Shares | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
Public Investment Corporation Limited | 49233520 | 15.2 |
Ninety One UK Limited | 33400655 | 10.3 |
M&G Investment Managers (Pty) Limited | 27503661 | 8.5 |
Coronation Fund Managers Limited | 20439698 | 6.3 |
Norges Bank Investment Management | 16948598 | 5.2 |
Fairtree Asset Management (Pty) Ltd | 16394400 | 5.1 |
The Vanguard Group, Inc. | 13441423 | 4.2 |
M&G Investments Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd | 10197824 | 3.2 |
Dimensional Fund Advisors LP | 7809965 | 2.4 |
BlackRock, Inc. | 5475903 | 1.7 |
| Ownership category | Shares | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
Institutions | 200108069 | 61.8 |
General public | 87853296 | 27.1 |
Sovereign wealth funds | 16948598 | 5.2 |
Hedge funds | 16394400 | 5.1 |
Individual insiders | 2468159 | 0.8 |
Private companies | 47100 | 0.0 |
| Lever | Action | Quantum |
|---|---|---|
Expenses, Africa | Reduction in planned spend across headcount, logistics and project spend | ZAR 300 million |
Expenses, Australia | Reduction in head-office positions | 6% |
Expenses, London | Leaner head-office structure; store and concession closures | 36 stores and 62 concessions closed |
Capex, Africa | Reduction against plan | ZAR 344 million |
Capex, London | Reduction against plan | ZAR 285 million |
Credit | Tightened acceptance rates across the year | From 19.6% to 17.7% between halves |
Inventory | Closing inventory growth held to 1.7% at group level | Africa +4.9%, Australia -5.9%, London -6.6% |
| Date | Initiative | Detail |
|---|---|---|
Oct 2024 | White Stuff acquisition completed | GBP 50 million / ZAR 1.0 billion; UK menswear and casual lifestyle entry |
2024 | JD Sports franchise agreement | 50-store ambition over five years; five stores trading by Nov 2025 |
Mar 2024 – May 2025 | Riverfields DC phased go-live | Jet Mar 2024, e-commerce Sep 2024, all brands May 2025, beauty Aug 2025 |
FY2025 | Beauty roll-out | 155 stores with a beauty department, scaling beyond 300; value beauty launched in Jet |
FY2025 | Omni-selling roll-out | Live in 3,000-plus stores; further 2,500 planned by FY2028 |
Jun 2025 | Capital Markets Day announced | First-ever TFG Capital Markets Day, planned for Q3 FY2026 in Cape Town, covering long-term strategic vision, financial priorities and growth roadmap. Whether this event was held was not confirmed in the sources reviewed |
Sep–Nov 2025 | Share buyback | 9,675,591 shares (2.98% of shares in issue) at an average ZAR 105.87 for ZAR 1.0 billion under the 4 September 2025 AGM authority |
Jun 2026 | Store rationalisation programme | Approximately 300 underperforming and marginal stores under review; at least 100 closures planned in FY2027 |
Jun 2026 | Financial Services leadership change | New leadership and direction announced for Fintech and credit |
| Category | FY2025 achieved (ZAR bn) | 2029 plan (ZAR bn) |
|---|---|---|
Beauty | 1.4 | 4.5 |
Value | 10.9 | 16.0 |
Homeware | 5.8 | 10.0 |
JD Sports | 0.1 | 4.7 |
Value-added services including cellular | 3.9 | 6.5 |
Bash | 2.1 | 4.7 |
Competitive Landscape
| Metric | TFG FY2026 | Mr Price FY2026 | Truworths latest | Pepkor latest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Revenue (ZAR bn) | 67.1 | 42.7 | ||
Revenue growth (%) | 7.2 | 4.2 | 12.9 | |
Gross margin (%) | 48.2 | 41.2 | ||
Headline earnings per share growth (%) | -33.5 | 8.0 | ||
Return on equity (%) | 5.2 | 27.6 | ||
Online share of sales (%) | 14.8 | 2.0 | ||
Market capitalisation (ZAR bn) | 17.1 | 20.2 | 80.0 | |
Share price, twelve months (%) | -52 | -18 | -18 | -23 |
Research and development intensity | Not applicable | Not applicable | Not applicable | Not applicable |
Recent Developments
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