Clothing retailers are at the sharp end of SA's political and economic turmoil
Results from apparel retailers in the past month have made it abundantly clear that South African household consumption is slowing down. Sales figures from Mr Price Group, Edcon and TFG show that shoppers are reluctant to spend in an economy fraught with uncertainty. Mr Price Group reported a drop in headline earnings for the first time in 16 years. In the year to April 1 2017, Mr Price reported a fall of 10.4% in diluted headline earnings per share to 887.9c. Retail sales eased 0.5%, while comparable store sales fell 3.6% to R18.6bn. Mr Price blamed the drop in sales on weak consumer sentiment and political turmoil. TFG, in its results for the year to end March 2017, also cited political and economic uncertainty as factors that would affect its performance in the new financial year. Turnover growth for TFG Africa was 8%, with comparable sales growth of 2.8%. According to Kagiso Asset Management associate portfolio manager Simon Anderssen, this meant that in the last quarter, TFG Af...
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