Major international retailer lands in South Africa – with stores in Joburg and Cape Town

The Foschini Group has opened two JD Sports stores in South Africa, with many more planned for the next five years.

In an exclusive retail partnership, TFG signed a franchise agreement with the leading fashion sports and lifestyle retailer, JD Sports, in March of this year.

The UK-based JD Sports is an international fashion retailer of branded sports and casualwear and sells recognised brands like Nike, Adidas, New Balance, The North Face and Under Armour.

TFG said that the partnership will showcase the unique retail strengths and capabilities of both retailers, bringing customers exclusive access to the latest styles and limited releases from some of the world’s largest brands.

JD Sports has 4,500 stores across 36 countries worldwide, including Australia, Singapore, Germany, France, the USA, Ireland and more.

The first JD Sports store in South Africa opened at Canal Walk Mall in Cape Town on 15 November 2024.

The Cape Town store is located in a prime spot within the mall and features 780 sqm of space.

The second store opened today, 10 December in Johannesburg’s Eastgate Mall.

TFG CEO, Anthony Thunström, said this partnership with JD Sports allows TFG to entrench
their sports offering even further (it already owns Sportscene).

“We’re delighted to be bringing JD Sports to South Africa. Our sports brands have strong experience and depth in the local market, and the JD Sports presence will amplify TFG’s leadership position in the market,” said Thunström.

“We are determined to put our customers first with a truly superior shopping experience – ensuring they know where to go for the best products available in SA”.

“We are very excited to see our first store in the region come to life and look forward to welcoming our new customers,” said JD Sports’ International Franchise Director, Chris Rowan.

“This is a further milestone in our international expansion strategy as part of our ‘JD Brand First’ global strategy and we are delighted to be working with TFG, one of the most respected retailers in South Africa, as we continue to bring JD’s distinctive offering to more customers globally.”

“Special thanks must go to the teams for their relentless hard work to deliver this incredible retail experience and our brand partners for their continued support in our global expansion.”

TFG will drive the JD Sports store expansion of around 50-60 stores over the next 5 years.

Struggling industry

JD Sports enters the South African market as two major luxury footwear brands have gone under.

South African sneaker brand Drip Footwear was forced to liquidate in September following a Gauteng court order. The company struggled to pay a R20 million advertising bill, leading to its liquidation.

Another footwear retailer Frame Leisure Trading, the operator of The Cross Trainer, also entered liquidation proceedings after an unsuccessful business rescue attempt.

Frame Leisure Trading struggled with cash flow issues following the Covid-19 pandemic, July 2021 unrest and the poor economic environment in the country.

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