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TFG London is part of The Foschini Group Limited (TFG), a leading South African retail business. TFG London entered the UK market in 2015 with the initial acquisition of Phase Eight, they then quickly moved on to add Whistles and Hobbs to their impressive portfolio of the most successful, premium womenswear brands in the UK. They opened their first blended store in December 2019 and launched a homeware brand, Inside Story in 2023. The end of 2024 saw the addition of White Stuff to their portfolio, further growing the TFG London group. Key to this is their strong, passionate teams that continue to drive their brands forward.
The CSR and Sustainability team reports directly to TFG London's Operating Board, which oversees the governance of responsible business practices. The CSR and Sustainability team’s principal role is to establish, implement and evolve the sustainability strategy, aimed at reducing the company’s impact on people and the planet while reflecting the company’s purpose, vision and values.
This strategic vision is made up of four key pillars; Planet, People, Material and Manufacture
The brands within TFG London have always had a drive towards ethical sustainability and a strong belief that upstream transparency and traceability are the foundation to achieving it.
However, with a small team using Excel spreadsheets and engaging with tier 1 suppliers via email to try and gather the data they needed, they quickly realised that this approach to transparency and traceability was not only very time-consuming and inefficient in its progress, but was under-utilisation of their valuable and talented resource. It was neither a viable nor scalable solution for meeting their current and future ESG legislative reporting requirements. They needed a solution that could automate the discovery, mapping, collection and consolidation of upstream data, freeing up their time and allowing them to focus and drive forward their sustainability strategies.
Segura provides TFG London with a platform that automates the discovery and mapping of their upstream suppliers. Linking this to an order chain of custody has allowed them to discover and validate their suppliers, where they are located, together with the flow of products and services between them and across the different manufacturing production steps; "Having the PO linked to the process of discovering our supply chain was super important. It really encouraged suppliers to engage with the platform and come onboard our journey".
Through Segura, the CSR and Sustainability team have been able to identify and engage with more and more suppliers, strengthening their global understanding of their production network. Mapping their supply chain was essential in their goals to be more transparent and to manage and mitigate against global sourcing risks.
The CSR and sustainability team continues to map its subsequent supply chain tiers beyond primary production sites to include more specialised crafting setups such as homeworking processes as well as fabrics, trims, yarns and raw materials. It is an ever-evolving and changing complex infrastructure for which real-time transparency and traceability data are key to staying ahead. “Whilst work continues, we have mapped a significant part of our supply chain down to raw materials (tier 4), enabling us to not only prepare ourselves for the Eco-design regulation and Digital Product Passport, but to highlight risks and opportunities to our design, sourcing, compliance and supply chain teams.”
TFG London, as many retailers do, had silos of information captured at different points, by different teams, across different systems. Consolidating this data, validating it and serving it up to the multiple stakeholders within the business was equally as time-consuming; "Our manual way of working became very frustrating as we realised that the data we were capturing was out of date by the time we had finished updating it. It was near impossible to collate data to compile reports and gain reliable insight into trends and areas of risk".
They wanted a way to combine this information into a central location, giving them the insights and analysis across the group, their brands and all areas of their supply chain from supplier details, services and components supplied, audits and certification capture.
Segura enabled them to do this, not only for the data captured through the platform itself but also from third-party systems and data sources. "From an IT perspective, they were delighted that there was minimal IT overhead to deploy or support the platform. Segura allows us to consolidate all of our ESG data collected by the platform and from other third-party data sources, and share this with the key stakeholders across our brands and teams. This was really powerful for us, as it allows us to share the responsibility for compliance with the relevant data stakeholders and align our sustainability efforts in everything we do".
The accountability of TFG London’s sustainability strategies sits with the c-suite, an important top-down approach, which gives the various teams the mandate for execution. With the Segura platform automating the collection, consolidating and sharing of data across their various teams, it allows their Sustainability team of three to focus on strategy setting and to project manage the realisation of that strategy, whilst spreading the accountability and empowering the other functions to execute on them.
The process of selecting the right platform can be a daunting one. With an increasing number of point solutions entering the market these days, it can be difficult to find the right one that meets all of your needs. Sometimes there is not one solution that ticks every single box. "There are always concerns when moving forward with any new platform, even when due diligence is performed in advance. You feel like you’re testing the waters; you’re not sure what the supplier uptake will be, or how flexible the platform will be, how easy the suppliers will find it or how much internal uptake we might see. Whilst you propose a new system, particularly with Software platforms, you have to consider all the people you need to bring along with you on the journey. This has to be considered and provided in the business case. Ultimately year on year when you’re balancing the books you have to demonstrate the solution is effective.
In addition, whilst retail is common in its concept the operations, strategies, starting points and journeys to sustainability will vary from retailer to retailer. Therefore, finding a platform that was broad in its capability, flexible in its deployment and continually being enhanced to meet their ever-evolving needs was key; "We have looked at other solutions similar to Segura, and although there are some similarities, the ability to communicate with Suppliers through the platform and having insights into all our brand’s suppliers on a single centralised platform is what made Segura so powerful for us. Segura allowed us to share robust real-time data across all brands and helps us align our ESG strategy across the entire business.
Equally, finding a company that was focused on understanding TFG London’s business needs, supporting and working with them to deliver what they needed was crucial. With pending EU legislation in the form of ESPR, DPP, AGEC and EUDR, combined with current legislative requirements like EPR and the UK Environmental Act, retailers are struggling with the task at hand; "Whilst we see this as a daunting task and there are so many priorities we have to juggle – it’s progress over perfection. Segura are like an extended family, working with us to find solutions to our needs and always on standby to help".
With sustainability no longer the responsibility of one, but a collaborative effort, it was important to be able to import data from other third-party sources and share this data across the various teams. But it was also important to be able to collaborate with other retailers – to discuss and understand legislative demands, share knowledge and best practices, and collaborate in common solutions.
"Being part of the Segura user community and being able to have wider conversations and learning about how other brands use the platform is really valuable. Together with Segura’s responsiveness to the brands' needs and requests, we are really pleased with the results we have achieved with the platform so far and are looking forward to building on this further".
TFG London is a company whose sustainability objectives are very much driven by the ‘right thing to do’ for people and the planet. But with everything in business, benefits and return on investment need to outweigh the cost of any initiative.
Besides the ability to provide the robust data required to meet legislative requirements, Segura has provided TFG London with the data to underpin their investment strategies; "Using data from Segura, we are able to look at hotspots that require investment and provide the relevant numbers to the c-suite to secure budget. Data is now driving where we focus our strategies and how we prioritise".
Whilst Environmental, Social and Governance legislations continue to increase and evolve across all areas, from ethical to environmental, packaging to raw materials, and waste to circularity, one thing is a common requirement across all – the foundation of upstream supply chain transparency and traceability. "Globally we have seen increasing focus on the introduction and expansion of human rights-related due diligence legislation. Our Business welcomes such legislation being debated and enacted in the UK in order to help to level the playing field and to drive increased transparency, best practices and positive impacts within global supply chains".
With a due-diligence platform now in place gathering upstream data and evidence on their suppliers, products, packaging and service across all their production steps, TFG London is ahead of the curve. They can efficiently collate and provide the data they need for current legislation but are preparing for the significant EU legislation coming down the line. "We use Segura’s reporting and data capture functionality to really dig into the supplier metrics that feed into the Modern Slavery Act compliance and due diligence, which is really helpful and efficient".
By addressing category-specific risks and taking the necessary steps to ensure compliance and safety, retailers can navigate the challenges of the retail landscape more effectively, protect their reputation and maintain financial stability.
Data and evidence are vital if retailers are to better understand the underlying causes or sources of risk, develop and execute targeted risk mitigation strategies and enhance communication and reporting of risk. "[Before Segura] We had no way of confirming whether suppliers had received our policies let alone agreed to them. We had no way of confirming that our nominated sites were being used which meant we were open to risks and couldn’t easily manage or mitigate that risk. Through Segura, we have been able to capture and track that data and remove the associated risks".
In addition, having visibility of the suppliers, products, components and services in their upstream supply chain, enables TFG London to identify and respond to the ongoing threats of supply chain disruption, whether environmental, geo-political or man-made. Similarly, they can identify opportunities in their supply chain, whether that be aligning suppliers and manufacturing locations to reduce transport costs and lead times, leveraging economies of scale, or ensuring continuity of supply. "We can evaluate area risk metrics, so if we wanted to reduce risk in a particular location we can do that easily and also see where we can increase supply for the same products in another area".
The movement towards ethical and sustainable manufacturing and the shift of accountability onto retailers and wholesalers is very much here to stay and with it the need for supply chain transparency and traceability. Suppliers within TFG London’s supply chain play an important role in driving positive change.
The Segura platform makes it easier for suppliers to provide the data retailers need to meet legislation and, in many cases, continue to do business in global regions.
It also frees up time for the retailer to help support their suppliers in making positive changes to their business which, in the long term will help protect their role within the sector and deliver them social, environmental and commercial benefits.
Using the Segura platform, TFG London has been able to make solid progress towards their four key pillars:
Planet: Reducing carbon emissions is one of TFG London's top priorities, and the ability to address Scope 3 emissions is key to achieving this. Using SBTi and having transparency of their suppliers, their operational practices and product components within them provide TFG with the robust data they need to target and progress their Scope 3 carbon reduction strategies; "Decarbonising is one of our top priorities, but we couldn’t decarbonise without bringing our suppliers along the journey with us. So it’s that mapping exercise and data collection, establishing KPIs and how we measure things that has enabled us to start to progress".
People: Striving to protect human rights, fair labour standards and safe working conditions within their supply chains, transparently. All brands are committed to responsible purchasing practices that enable ethical production. Suppliers access all policies focused on this area through the platform. Through the supplier ratings within Segura, TFG London can focus its efforts on lower-rated suppliers. Educating and working with those suppliers to bring their ratings up to the required standard. "With Segura our audit tracking and rating process is automated, allowing us to spend a bit more time working with those suppliers that need a bit more support. This is really helpful as we’re a small team and this allows us to focus our time and efforts to positively impact supplier ratings".
Material: TFG London is replacing their materials with lower-impact and more responsible alternatives. They are aiming to source 100% more responsible and lower-impact materials across core fibres including cotton, viscose, polyester, leather and wool by 2030.
All the hard work undertaken by product materials and design teams to identify more sustainable and low-impact materials can easily be undone through the selection of the wrong supplier. Having the transparency of suppliers and the flow of products and services tied to an order chain of custody enables the identification of suppliers who do not align with TFG London's strategies. "Although we have always had nominated suppliers for packaging and labels, we had no way of confirming that those nominated sites were being used, which meant we were open to risks and couldn’t easily manage or mitigate that risk. Through Segura, we have been able to capture and track that data and remove the associated risks.
Manufacture: TFG London collaborates with their suppliers to measure, monitor and reduce environmental impacts across their supply chain while improving working conditions and enhancing both transparency and traceability through Segura. By 2025, they aim to support their suppliers to reach progressive environmental practices, as well as reach 100% of their factories audited to the SMETA standard, with 80% of those rated green. Environmental impacts include energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, water stewardship, waste reduction and chemical management.
The implementation of Segura has boosted internal confidence and enabled the CSR and Sustainability team to develop detailed and focused targets around Ethical working practices and Sustainability with board-level backing. The ability to clearly show progress year-on-year further secures the confidence in the team.
"We believe that building trusted partnerships with suppliers, enhancing transparency and taking a long-term approach in order to protect the planet for tomorrow is good citizenship as well as good business. This means treating everyone fairly and with respect for mutual benefit, as well as ensuring our actions today meet this longer-term objective".
Peter Drucker’s statement – “you can’t manage what you can’t measure” rings true across supply chain sustainability.
Having the ability to benchmark your upstream supply chains' ethical and environmental performance enables businesses to set achievable KPIs. It can help identify areas of risk and opportunity and drive progress towards achieving them.
Segura is the leading fashion supply chain traceability solution, empowering fashion retailers and brands to deliver ethical, sustainable and efficient multi-tier supply chains.
Segura provides n-tier mapping, transparency, traceability, visualisation, compliance and reporting. Segura sits in the centre of your supply chain management structure creating a central repository for all your supply chain, ESG-related data and evidence, including from third-party data sources.
With all supply chain traceability data stored on a single platform, our customers get the right evidence in the right place to back up claims and meet regulatory compliance.
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