{
  "id": 5302268,
  "title": "SA fashion retailer TFG to close a further 180 stores",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/03/sa-fashion-retailer-tfg-to-close-a-further-180-stores",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-03T09:59:35.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "SABC News",
    "slug": "sabc-news",
    "url": "https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/1157651-2/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Foschini Group, a prominent South African fashion retailer, plans to close an additional 180 stores over the next three years in an effort to boost profitability as online sales continue to soar. The retailer, which oversees brands such as Foschini, Sportscene, and Markham, reported modest sales growth of 0.2% to R23 billion in the 21 weeks leading up to August 22. African operations grew by 3.4%. During the same period, the company shuttered 85 stores deemed \"economically unfeasible\" and opened 25 new locations. Approximately 80 more stores are anticipated to meet closure criteria in 2027, with an additional 100 projected over the subsequent two fiscal years. TFG stated that these planned closures are part of a broader strategy to cut costs and boost the efficiency of its store network. The group's online revenue surged 15.3% during the same period, representing 15.9% of total sales. In Africa, online sales skyrocketed 54.1%, propelled by the Bash e-commerce platform, which accounted for 10.5% of total sales, up from 7.1% in the previous reporting period.",
  "summary": "The retailer closed 85 stores that were no longer \"economically viable\"",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}