On top of the salary increase, CEO Anthony Thunström also received a bonus worth millions of rands.
In a time where most South Africans are not prioritising clothing, The Foschini Group (TFG) has gone for a bold move and given its employees, including the CEO, salary increases. Is fashion doing that well?
Despite everyone receiving an increase, the pay gap between the CEO and ordinary staff members is still mind-blowing.
TFG operates a wide range of retail brands, including clothing, jewellery, tech, and furniture. Some of the well-known brands under TFG are Foschini, Markham, Sportscene, Totalsports, @home, Jet, The Fix, and Hi.
Recently, TFG established an online platform, Bash, to sell their products with Luke Jedeikin and Claude Hanan. The two men are the founders of Superbalist, which was later sold to Takealot. The group is also known for offering qualifying young adults accounts where they can make purchases and pay back the retailer over a six-month or more period.
ALSO READ: Foschini Group’s online platform, Bash, boosts sales
TFG increases staff salaries
Dineo Noganta, Head of TFG Communications, told The Citizen that for the financial year 2025, CEO Anthony Thunström received a 5% increase, and so did the general staff and management. However, store and distribution centre employees’ wages received a higher increase of 6%.
Without revealing the amount, she added that the lowest store employee earns higher than the retail Sectoral Determination minimum wage due to the benefits they receive.
“The lowest store employee earns a basic pay aligned with the retail Sectoral Determination minimum but also receives benefits, which increase their pay to 50% higher than the retail Sectoral Determination minimum wage.”
TFG gives CEO bonus
While Thunström received a lower increase than other employees, he still outearns them. On top of the 5% increase, he also received a bonus of R4.1 million.
A CEO’s salary is typically set by the board of directors, which oversees the company’s strategic direction and governance.
The board assess the CEO’s performance and sets remuneration in alignment with company goals and values, taking into consideration the individual’s experience, the company’s size and growth, and key performance metrics.
Breakdown of CEO salary
According to the group’s remuneration report for the year ended 31 March 2025, Thunström’s guaranteed salary increased to more than R16 million after the 5% increase. His package deal includes an annual incentive worth more than R10 million. This is a bonus given based on the company’s performance.
He also received a deferred incentive worth more than R16 million. This is a bonus that will only be given to him at a later stage. Deferred incentives differ according to an agreement between the CEO and the company.
The report also showed that Thunström received dividends worth more than R1 million. His salary package cost the company more than R44 million. However, this is lower than the R63.8 million he received in 2023.
A strategy to retain talent?
It is normal for the remuneration of one executive to exceed the combined salaries of ten staff members, due to differences in qualifications, experience, and responsibilities. Therefore, the difference in salaries is surely justifiable. But to what degree?
David Shapiro, Sasfin Securities global equities strategist, told News24 that it is difficult to establish if the pay received by CEOs was worth it or not. He highlighted that there have been major increases in executives’ pay across most companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).
Shapiro is of the view that to some extent, the increases are being fuelled by companies trying to keep up with one another and retain their CEOs.
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