Centric Software® is pleased to announce that TFG (The Foschini Group) has selected Centric Planning™ as the foundation of a multi-phase transformation to drive merchandising agility, inventory optimization and standardize execution across its global brand portfolio. Centric Software delivers innovative, integrated, end-to-end AI-powered enterprise solutions to take products from concept to commercialization. Fashion, luxury, footwear, outdoor, home, consumer electronics, food & beverage, cosmetics & personal care as well as multi-category retail teams can plan, design, develop, source, comply, buy, make, price, allocate, assort, sell and replenish products to achieve strategic and operational digital transformation goals.
TFG is one of Africa’s leading specialty retail groups, with 40 brands and thousands of stores spanning fashion, beauty, consumer electronics, jewelry, homeware and furniture. With significant investments already made in e-commerce, supply chain and local manufacturing infrastructure, TFG leaders identified its merchandising capability as the critical next step to fully leverage those groupwide strengths and advance its ambition to become Africa’s leading omnichannel retailer.
Having implemented Centric PLM™ within its design and manufacturing business in 2019, TFG is now expanding its partnership with Centric Software to standardize and modernize merchandising operations across the group. Extending the relationship into planning was a natural next step towards a more connected merchandising ecosystem. The first phase will focus on Merchandise Financial Planning (MFP), moving teams of approximately 250 planners from legacy planning cycles and manual rollups toward a standardized, data-driven environment.
“Currently, our merchandise planners spend a lot of time prepping data and not enough time making strategic decisions,” adds Jonathan Stein, Head of TotalSports, the largest sporting apparel and footwear brand in Southern Africa, part of TFG since 2000.
Leaders sought a scalable platform capable of supporting merchandising processes across brands and connecting merchandising processes end-to-end while reducing reliance on fragmented tools. “We come from a world where merchants use a multitude of tools to do their day job. What we wanted was something more integrated and seamless. That’s why we chose Centric Planning,” says Stein. “In some divisions, teams can review hundreds of Excel forecasts weekly. We need a better, more informed view.”
That complexity made even routine change slow and resource-intensive, with heavy reliance on IT intervention and limiting scalability across divisions.
“Our current MFP landscape includes multiple separate instances, which makes change slower and harder to scale. The last major change took us longer than we wanted to roll out across divisions,” explains Shawn Wood, CTO at TFG. “Centric Planning will enable a more unified approach for improving consistency and supporting the business as requirements evolve.”
TFG expects to gain faster visibility across the group to improve Weekly Sales and Stock Intake (WSSI) planning agility and increase flexibility in adjusting open-to-buy decisions as conditions change during the season. These improvements are designed to support a targeted reduction in stock holding as a key performance objective.
“With Centric Planning we can move our merchants away from repetitive administrative work and toward higher-value, strategic decision-making, which not only strengthens outcomes but also creates a more fulfilling and impactful role for our teams,” says Werner Heydra, Head of Group Central Merchandise at TFG. “That visibility and roll-up decision-making is one of the things that’s going to unlock the stock. Centric Planning gives you the ability to respond and make better calls,” adds Heydra.
“With Centric Planning we will have the agility to drill down into our group plan at the click of a button,” says Stein. “It will give us visibility and control we’ve never had before.”
While the initial phase focuses on Merchandise Financial Planning, TFG’s long-term vision is to progressively connect planning, product development and trade workflows to leverage Centric Software’s AI-driven capabilities for more intelligent, connected decision-making across the product lifecycle.
“What I’m most excited about is having one integrated tool end-to-end,” Heydra continues. “If someone changes the plan on one side it updates the volumes in the middle. Having PLM and planning solutions together on one platform provides great integration from beginning to end. It can break down barriers between functions, save time and keep stronger alignment. And that is what sets Centric Software apart from the competition.”
“The pace of change is becoming even more important,” adds Wood. “With AI, it’s only going to accelerate and we don’t have the luxury of a big engineering team to build new capabilities at the speed the business needs. That’s another reason why we liked the offering from Centric Software.”
“With a new end-to-end tool like the Centric Software platform under one roof that’s highly configurable, we can be more nimble going forward,” concludes Heydra. “The working relationship has been great. Centric Software solutions are built with a fashion industry mindset, which really resonates with our business. It’s been a strong partnership so far.”
“We are honored that, TFG has selected Centric Software as a strategic foundation for its merchandising transformation,” says Fabrice Canonge, CEO of Centric Software. “TFG has a clear end-to-end vision focused on standardization, agility and inventory performance. With an AI-driven planning platform, TFG can build the visibility and speed needed to make smarter decisions across brands and support omnichannel growth.”
