South African clothing retailer Foschini Group investigating cyberattack on British fashion brands

The South African retail giant The Foschini Group (TFG) disclosed a cyberattack on Tuesday that disrupted IT systems at three of its British fashion brands, leaving some services unavailable.

The incident, discovered Sunday, affected Phase Eight, Hobbs and Whistles, which operate under the group's UK division, TFG London. The company said its stores remained open, but several IT systems were still offline as the specialists worked to determine the extent of the breach.

TFG has not identified the attackers or disclosed how they gained access to its systems. It also has not established whether any personal or sensitive information was compromised.

In a statement to investors published through the Johannesburg Stock Exchange's news service, the company said it had reported the incident to relevant UK authorities and was working with cybersecurity specialists to investigate.

The company's two other British brands, Inside Story and White Stuff, were not affected. Its operations in South Africa and Australia also remained unaffected because they use separate IT systems.

In an email to customers cited by local media, TFG warned that orders placed around the time of the incident could be delayed and advised shoppers against submitting duplicate orders.

The company said payments were processed by an external provider and that it had no reason to believe payment information was at risk. It also said customers did not need to change their account passwords at this stage.

TFG said it would notify affected customers or organizations if its investigation found that sensitive information had been compromised.

Headquartered in Cape Town, TFG is one of South Africa's largest retail groups, with nearly 5,000 stores across 18 countries and a portfolio of roughly 40 brands spanning fashion, beauty, jewelry and homeware.

The company’s online sales were also affected earlier this year by a cyber incident involving “a key online concession partner,” TFG disclosed in its June financial results.

Its London division reported a more than 65% drop in earnings, with the partner's cyber incident cited among the contributing factors. There is no indication that the earlier disruption is connected to the latest attack.

The incident comes amid continued cyber threats to major fashion and retail brands.

Earlier this month, British online fashion retailer ASOS said attackers had compromised an employee account by impersonating a trusted contact, allowing them to send an unauthorized push notification to customers.

In August, American apparel maker Levi Strauss & Co. and Dutch luxury department store chain De Bijenkorf also reported cybersecurity incidents.

Last year, major retailers including Marks & Spencer, Harrods, Louis Vuitton, Mango, and the Co-op Group disclosed cyberattacks or data breaches.