TFG chief’s pay drops sharply

The Foschini Group chief executive Anthony Thunström saw his annual remuneration fall by more than R26 million following a difficult year for the retailer.

TFG’s 2026 remuneration figures show that his total package declined from R44.76 million in 2025 to R18.5 million.

The R26.27 million reduction represents a 58.7% decline. It works out to roughly R72 000 less per day across the financial year.

The drop was driven by the removal of all performance-based incentives.

Guaranteed salary still increased

Thunström’s guaranteed pay increased by 5%, rising from R16.54 million to R17.37 million.

His basic cash salary climbed from R16.06 million to R16.88 million, while benefits rose slightly to R481 000.

TFG said its remuneration committee approved the increase after considering market comparisons, internal pay fairness and salary benchmarks across the retailer’s head-office workforce.

However, Thunström received no annual short-term incentive or deferred long-term incentive.

Those payments were worth a combined R27.15 million in the previous financial year.

Earnings and shareholder returns weaken

TFG described the 2026 financial year as one of its most challenging trading periods in recent years.

Group revenue increased by 7.2% to R67.1 billion, while retail turnover rose by 7.1% to R62.4 billion.

However, profitability weakened sharply.

Operational earnings before interest and tax fell by 22.1% to R4.9 billion, while headline earnings per share dropped by 33.5% to 675.4 cents.

The company’s share price also declined by 43% from March 2025, while its total dividend fell by 30.8% to 270 cents per share.

CEO gives up all incentives

Financial measures account for 70% of TFG executives’ performance assessments.

The formula-based performance result fell from 86.4% in 2025 to 38.3% in 2026.

The remuneration committee then applied its maximum 25% downward adjustment because of weaker results and poor shareholder returns.

Following discussions with the board, Thunström agreed to forfeit all incentive payments.

TFG said the decision aligned executive pay with the experience of shareholders and reinforced its pay-for-performance policy.