Retail Apparel Group
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Owned |
ZAF |
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Menswear retailer
Malaysian private equity firm Navis Capital bought 80% of this company from Champ Ventures in 2011, with founder Steven Leibowitz owning most of the remainder. Navis sold the company to South Africa's Foschini Group in 2017. Operates about 380 stores.
Company Ownership
Retail Apparel Group Pty Ltd | AUS | website | ||||
The Foschini Group Ltd ![]() owns 80% of Retail Apparel Group Pty Ltd |
ZAF | website | ||||
Clothing retail Founded in South Africa over 90 years ago, today Foschini operates 22 retail brands in over 3000 locations. Made its first major Australian acquisition in 2017, buying Retail Apparel Group for $302 million. |
Company Assessment
PRAISE | CRITICISM | INFORMATION | ||
Retail Apparel Group Pty Ltd | ||||
In 2020 Baptist World Aid Australia released The COVID Fashion Report, a special edition of their Ethical Fashion Report. The report is framed around six COVID Fashion Commitments that ask companies to demonstrate the steps and measures they are taking to protect and support the most vulnerable workers in their supply chains. This company showed evidence of actions that cover ALL areas of the COVID Fashion Commitments.
Source: Baptist World Aid Australia (2020)
This company has signed the Cotton Pledge with the Responsible Sourcing Network, signifying a public commitment to not knowingly source Turkmen cotton for the manufacturing of any of their products until the Government of Turkmenistan ends the practice of forced labor in its cotton sector. Each cotton season, Turkmen public sector workers are forced by the government to fulfill cotton picking quotas and private businesses are forced to contribute to the efforts financially or with labor. This places a huge burden on the health, education, and general well-being of Turkmen citizens.
Source: Responsible Sourcing Network (2021) |
This company has taken angora items off the shelves and promised not to use angora again, following a PETA campaign launched in Dec 2013 which revealed the cruelty inflicted on angora rabbits in Chinese factory farms, where 90% of the world's angora is produced.
Source: PETA (2018)
This company is a member of the Better Cotton Initiative, a voluntary program which encourages the adoption of better management practices in cotton cultivation to achieve measurable reductions in key environmental impacts, while improving social and economic benefits for cotton farmers, small and large, worldwide.
Source: Better Cotton Initiative (2022)
Human Rights Law Centre's 2022 report, "Broken Promises: Two years of corporate reporting under Australia's Modern Slavery Act", examines statements submitted to the Government's Modern Slavery Register by 92 companies sourcing from four sectors with known risks of modern slavery: garments from China, rubber gloves from Malaysia, seafood from Thailand and fresh produce from Australia. Modern slavery statements are analysed to see if they comply with the mandatory reporting requirements, identify or disclose obvious modern slavery risks, and demonstrate effective actions to address risks. This company's modern slavery disclosure statement received a rating in the 31-40% range. The average score was 44% and the highest score was 89%.
Source: Human Rights Law Centre (2022)
Baptist World Aid Australia's '2022 Ethical Fashion Report' assessed 120 companies on their efforts to mitigate against the risks of forced labour, child labour and worker exploitation in their supply chains, as well as protect the environment from the harmful impacts of the fashion industry. Assessment criteria fall into five main categories: policy & governance, tracing & risk, auditing and supplier relationships, worker empowerment and environmental sustainability. This company received a score of 35/100.
Source: Baptist World Aid Australia (2022) |
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The Foschini Group Ltd | ||||
In 2022, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) asked companies to provide data about their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change risk. Responding companies are scored across four key areas: disclosure; awareness; management; and leadership. This company received a CDP Climate Change Score of B.
Source: CDP (2022) |
The 2023 Fashion Transparency Index reviewed 250 of the world's largest fashion brands and retailers and ranked them according to how much they disclose about their human rights and environmental policies, practices and impacts. Brands owned by this company scored 18%, signifying it is doing a bit more than the others when it comes to having policies and commitments in place and auditing and reporting activities, but could be doing more. The average score was 26% and the highest score was 83%.
Source: Fashion Revolution (2023)
This company received an S&P Global ESG Score of 25/100 in the Retailing category of the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment, an annual evaluation of companies' sustainability practices (last updated 18 Nov 2022). The rankings are based on an analysis of corporate economic, environmental and social performance, assessing issues such as corporate governance, risk management, environmental reporting, climate strategy, human rights and labour practices.
Source: S&P Global (2022)
The 2022 Nature Benchmark ranks 400 companies across eight industries on their efforts to protect our environment and its biodiversity. The companies were assessed using three measurement areas: governance and strategy; social inclusion and community impact; and ecosystems and biodiversity. This company ranked #205/400, with a total score of 14.3/100.
Source: World Benchmarking Alliance (2022)
The 2021 Gender Benchmark ranks 35 companies from the apparel sector on their efforts to drive gender equality and women's empowerment across their entire value chain. This company ranked #28/35, with a total score of 10.8/100.
Source: World Benchmarking Alliance (2021) |
Follow the link to see details of this company's Corporate Social Investment initiative.
Source: company website (2017)
This company is a member of the Better Cotton Initiative, a voluntary program which encourages the adoption of better management practices in cotton cultivation to achieve measurable reductions in key environmental impacts, while improving social and economic benefits for cotton farmers, small and large, worldwide.
Source: Better Cotton Initiative (2022)
In 2022, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) asked companies to provide data about their efforts to manage and govern freshwater resources. Responding companies are scored on six key metrics: transparency; governance & strategy; measuring & monitoring; risk assessment; targets & goals; and value chain engagement. This company received a CDP Water Security Score of C.
Source: CDP (2022)
Business & Human Rights Resource Centre digital platform presents news and allegations relating to the human rights impact of over 20,000 companies. Their enhanced Company Dashboards also include financial information, key data points based on corporate policies, and scores from prominent civil society benchmarks. Follow the link and use the search function to view this company's dashboard.
Source: BHRRC (2022) |
Company Details
Type | Private company |
Employees | 2,670 (2016) |
Contact Details
Address | Level 1, 409 George St, Waterloo, NSW, 2017, Australia |
Phone | 02 9699 0888 |
gary@retailapparelgroup.com | |
Website | www.retailapparelgroup.com |
Products / Brands
Retail Apparel Group
Connor Menswear (casual) Johnny Bigg Menswear (casual) Rockwear Activewear Tarocash Menswear (casual) yd. Menswear (casual) |