Get details of Foschini factory shops in major South African cities and shopping
The Foschini Group is an investment holding company that specialises in a variety of different retail sectors.
Through its many subsidiary retailers, which include the likes of @home, exact!, DonnaClaire, Charles & Keith, American Swiss, Mat & May, Sterns, Markhams, Fabiani, G-Star, Sportscene, Totalsports, Duesouth, Fashion Express, and Foschini itself, the group has an extensive portfolio of brands that cover everything from clothing and footwear to jewelry and sportswear, as well as home and lifestyle products.
George Rosenthal founded the Foschini Group in 1924, with the first outlet located in Johannesburg. Initially the store sold inexpensive women’s fashion items imported from the USA, but quickly expanded to cover a wider range of products.
Formation of a retail giant
Just over a year from its inception, the Foschini brand had grown to include nine retail outlets nationwide. In 1941, Foschini listed as a public company on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, becoming the first South African fashion retailer to do so.
The solid foundation established by Foschini’s early years (due in no small part to Rosenthal’s savvy marketing and company management strategies) enabled the company to expand rapidly, and in 1967 the company made its first major step towards becoming a major holding company when it acquired the American Swiss Watch Company. This was shortly followed by the acquisition of Markhams, and later, Pages Stores (which would later be rebranded as exact!).
