Bash is rocking in South Africa

The Foschini Group (TFG) has seen a jump in group sales, with Bash driving a strong increase in online sales.

In a trading update for April to December 2024—which includes Q3 from September to December 2024—Foschini said that group sales grew by 8.4% for Q3.

This was far ahead of the 2.0% seen in the first half of the FY2025 financial year.

Group sales were up 1.6%, with gross profit up 5.9% compared to the prior nine-month period.

Group online sales also grew by 47.2% in Q3 FY2025 and by 49.3% in TFG Africa. They also grew by 20.8% year-to-date for FY25, contributing 11.3% to total retail sales.

The group added that like-for-like sales for TFG Africa grew by 4.6% in Q3 FY2025.

TFG Africa’s online sales grew by 41.4% for the YTD FY2025 and now contribute 5.6% to overall sales. This was driven by the Bash platform, it said.

“Bash also achieved strong market share gains in December 2024 against a backdrop of declining market shares for some of the pure-play retailers,” said TFG.

TFG Africa’s year-to-date gross margin increased by 210 basis points compared to the prior nine-month period, with a high contribution from full-price sales in November and December.

Credit sales turnover grew by 7.3% in Q3 FY2025 and by 4.0% for the nine months, contributing 25.8% to total sales.

Following the acquisition of White Stuff, effective from 25 October 2024, TFG London increased sales by 46.5% in Q3 FY2025 in GBP and by 0.6% on a comparable basis.

On a standalone basis, White Stuff saw its sales increase by 18.3% in the third quarter of the prior period.

TFG Australia continues to face difficult trading conditions but has shown improvement in its performance in Q3.

Sales only dropped by 0.5% compared to the 2.4% contraction in the first half of the year in AUD.

“Management’s focus on inventory management has also ensured an improvement in gross margin by 80 basis points year to date,” said TFG.

Outlook

The group has a positive outlook for South Africa, with a modest recovery expected for 2025.

Sales in TFG Africa increased 14,6% for the 3 weeks ended 18 January 2025.

TFG Africa also looks to expand its store estate footprint by adding over 100 new stores during the 2026 financial year.

That said, it will continue to rationalise its store portfolio to enhance the return on capital employed.

Although the UK economy is under pressure, the group has been encouraged by the performance of White Stuff and its positive impact on the business.

Sales in the 3 weeks ended 18 January 2025 grew 63.3% in GBP including White Stuff, and by 1,9% when excluding White Stuff.

In Australia, sales for the three weeks ended 18 January 2025 grew by 3.0% in AUD.

Although trading conditions remain challenging, the economy looks to be stabilising with interest rate reductions expected soon.