TFG opens SA’s first JD Sports in Cape Town
At the Mother City’s biggest mall, Canal Walk.
by Suren Naidoo · MoneywebJSE-listed retail major The Foschini Group (TFG) opened the first JD Sports store in South Africa in Cape Town last week in partnership with the UK-based sneaker and sports fashion retailer.
The 780m2 store launched at the super-regional Canal Walk Shopping Centre, which is majority-owned by listed retail property counter Hyprop and is the Mother City’s largest mall.
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It represents JD Sports’s foray into the SA market through a franchise deal with TFG, first announced in March this year.
More stores are set to open in select locations in the country.
“We’re excited to announce our first JD Sports store in South Africa, opened last week at Canal Walk, Cape Town, in partnership with TFG,” JD Sports said in a post on LinkedIn.
“Our new … flagship will offer cutting-edge retail design and exclusive access to global brands like Nike, Adidas, The North Face and New Balance,” it added.
“We are very excited to see our first store in the region come to life and look forward to welcoming our new customers,” Chris Rowan, international franchise director of JD Sports, said in the post.
“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,” added Rowan.
He said it is part of the group’s plan to “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.”
In March, TFG said the signing of the franchise agreement “means that TFG will open more than 40 JD stores over the next five years in South Africa”.
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TFG CEO Anthony Thunström, said at the time: “We are excited to be the exclusive partner of JD Sports in South Africa. This partnership allows TFG to bring a new compelling international sports fashion offering to the South African market.”
He said the franchise deal would “further bolster TFG’s existing sports positioning” in the market. The group’s leading ‘athleisure’ retail store chains in SA included Sportscene, Totalsports, and Sneaker Factory.
Speaking at a TFG results presentation earlier this year, Thunström stressed that the JD Sports partnership would see a differentiated offering to the group’s existing sports footwear and apparel stores in SA.
He said JD Sports would also offer unique lines that only it stocked, in partnership with international sports brands like Nike.
SA has seen a boom in the athleisure retail market, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns, which saw more people work from home or opt for hybrid working arrangements.
Meanwhile, French sports retailer Decathlon also continues to expand in the SA market. The group is set to open its latest flagship store at Attacq’s Mall of Africa in Waterfall City, Johannesburg, on Black Friday (29 November).
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