{"id":836446,"date":"2025-08-31T08:11:02","date_gmt":"2025-08-31T06:11:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=836446"},"modified":"2025-08-31T08:12:33","modified_gmt":"2025-08-31T06:12:33","slug":"major-retailer-in-south-africa-expanding-stores-with-a-new-twist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/836446\/major-retailer-in-south-africa-expanding-stores-with-a-new-twist\/","title":{"rendered":"Major retailer in South Africa expanding stores with a new twist"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Retail group Truworths is spending millions as it plans to increase its trading space and expand its new concept standalone stores and ‘mini emporiums’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As reported by the Business Times<\/a>, Truworths is spending roughly R550 million to expand its trading space by 3% in the 2026 financial year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group also wants to add more stores for Daniel Hechter and Ginger Mary, both of which have a single standalone store. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company\u2019s streetwear brands, Fuel and Moskow, are also part of the group\u2019s plans to expand into standalone stores. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

CEO Michael Mark said that a real estate opportunity exists to take some of its established brands to create \u201cmini stores or mini emporiums.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group is also investing in store refurbishment, as it anticipates a more favourable macroeconomic outlook over the next 12 to 24 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the 2025 financial year, which ended in June, Truworths Africa opened 22 stores but closed 14, leaving its total South African stores at 810.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The store closures come amid a challenging time for the group, with its financial situation worsening. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It said that the financial year began with cautious optimism following the election and the introduction of the GNU. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sentiment was buoyed by expectations of improved consumer confidence and the introduction of the two-pot retirement system. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expectations of lower interest rates did come to fruition, with some forecasts expecting GDP growth of 2% to 3% per annum. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHowever, much of this optimism failed to materialise due to a combination of geopolitical uncertainties – particularly around tariffs and rising tensions in the Middle East – and internal challenges within the GNU.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLate deliveries of winter merchandise in the prior period due to port congestion and global shipping disruptions, combined with the delayed onset of winter in 2024, dampened seasonal demand.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This resulted in elevated markdowns in the first part of the financial period to meet terminal stock objectives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weak trading conditions also necessitated increased in-season promotional activity to manage inventory levels effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group also maintained a prudent approach to credit granting, especially in the higher-risk credit segment, which dampened sales growth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group said that its credit book remained resilient and well-managed, with credit quality continuing to improve during the period and demand for new accounts remaining robust. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A significant investment in a new Truworths Africa Distribution centre was also completed during the quarter, with a large part of merchandise distribution transitioning to the facility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Financials<\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Looking at the group\u2019s financials, retail sales increased by 2.7% to R22.0 billion, with the group\u2019s gross profit margin sitting at 51.3%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the group\u2019s cost of sales also increased by 5.38% to R10.39 billion, outpacing revenue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Truworths\u2019 profit for the year thus shrank by 28.31% to R2.80 billion, but its basic earnings per share shrank by 28.82% to 745.2 cents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group\u2019s annual dividend per share was thus reduced 7.9% to 487 cents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key Features<\/th>Reported 52 weeks to 29 Jun 2025<\/th>2024 Comparative<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Sale of merchandise<\/td>Up 3.2% to R21.3 billion<\/td>\u2013<\/td><\/tr>
Retail sales<\/td>Up 2.7% to R22.0 billion<\/td>\u2013<\/td><\/tr>
Gross profit margin<\/td>51.3%<\/td>52.3%<\/td><\/tr>
Operating margin<\/td>20.0%<\/td>27.3%<\/td><\/tr>
Earnings per share (EPS)<\/td>745.2 cents<\/td>1 046.9 cents<\/td><\/tr>
Headline earnings per share (HEPS)<\/td>752.1 cents<\/td>817.9 cents<\/td><\/tr>
Diluted headline earnings per share<\/td>743.4 cents<\/td>805.8 cents<\/td><\/tr>
Cash generated from operations<\/td>R4.8 billion<\/td>R4.7 billion<\/td><\/tr>
Net asset value per share<\/td>2 859 cents<\/td>2 553 cents<\/td><\/tr>
Net cash\/debt<\/td>Net cash of R720 million<\/td>Net debt of R306 million<\/td><\/tr>
Annual dividend per share<\/td>Down 7.9% to 487 cents<\/td>\u2013<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Despite a tough 2025 financial year, Truworths is spending heavily to expand its retail network, including new concepts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":818232,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[23509,23510,3671],"class_list":["post-836446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-daniel-hechter","tag-ginger-mary","tag-truworths"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/836446","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/95"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=836446"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/836446\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":836454,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/836446\/revisions\/836454"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/818232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=836446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=836446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=836446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}