Fun activities at the TFG online store launch

Published by www.sportstrader.co.za

TFG (The Foschini Group) Sport opened for online trading with sneaker style, shooting hoops and packed gear on July 7th. The media and sporting celebrities competed in fun-filled activities, after several speakers shared some sage advice and interesting experiences, while the group’s sport division opened for trading in cyberspace.

Robyn Cooke, head of TFG E-commerce, welcoming guests at the launch.

‘Bokke Pierre Bester and Seabelo Senatla in conversation, with runner Ryan Sandes in the background.

Blogger Leigh Harding painting sneakers.

Liesl van Schalkwyk ‘laying down the rules’.

TFG is often approached to have a retail presence when new malls are developed, said Kathryn Sakalis, TFG MD Group Marketing and E-commerce. “We are then faced with dilemma likes: of do we go in? Are our competitors going in? If we go in, which brands should we open stores for?”

Kathryn Sakalis explaining the benefits of cybertrading.

They don’t have these types of problems with their online mall, launched last year with @home and hi, which will feature all of TFG’s retail brands by 2018. The online mall at www.tfg.co.za is exclusive to the group’s retail brands and they can control their own timing for opening stores and introducing products, while customers can shop across all their brands with one basket. 

Their customers can now shop whenever they want, as the mall is open all hours, and TFG can get to understand their customers’ shopping habits better as their movements are trackable on the site, said Sakalis. If there’s a problem with the product, the customer can return the online-bought product to the corresponding physical store. The online site also features a countdown timer that will alert customers when new products are available in the online store and customers can also place pre-orders.

The Next Weekend talk about their “Get Lost” trip.

Irreverent adventurers Koos Groenewald, Uno de Waal and Roy Potterill shared some of the behind-the scenes stories of their “Next weekend” motorbike trip along unmapped routes between Johannesburg to Cape Town that became the 8-part YouTube “Get Lost” series for Levi’s. The name “next weekend” comes from being told “you should be here next weekend” when something exciting is supposed to happen in the places they visited on a motorbike or cycle ... even when they did return the next weekend!

Mountainbiker Koos Groenewald of Jana&Koos Uncreative concept developers.

Levi’s ambassador and photographer Roy Potterill.

Cyclist and media man Uno de Waal.

They learnt “the adventure starts when things start to go wrong,” said the trio, who spent the previous weekend cycling up the Swartberg pass in DueSouth gear. 

They pitted their skills at packing the most gear into a Thule travel bag in just 60 seconds – with a sleeping bag, trekking pole and shoes compulsory items – against other guests at the DueSouth station.

Packing the most gear in a bag in a minute is more difficult than it looks.

The first woman to win both the Two Oceans and Comrades marathons in one year, Caroline Wostmann, told how setting new goals for herself over the past seven years, transformed her from a new mom running to lose excess weight, into a champion who’ll always be in the record books. 

Caroline Wostmann and coach Lindsey Parry share her 7-year journey to become a marathon champion.

The Two Oceans was supposed to be a training run for the Comrades, “but one can get unexpected results even with the best planning,” added her coach Lindsey Parry. And mis-communication between them about how far she was ahead of the “Russian twins”, resulted in Caroline running one of the fastest splits for the last 10km in the Comrades.

Seabelo Senatla helps Caroline Wostmann improve her hoop skills.

They joined the other fit guests, including Ryan Sandes, in trying to beat rugby players Pierre Bester and Seabelo Senatla in putting the most basketballs through the hoop at the Totalsports station.

Anthea Poulos of The Bread brand agency  and rapper Stilo Magolides (aka Choc Seruno) introduced the changed sneakerhead culture as you no longer have to spend R3 000 to import the latest “cool kicks” from overseas, but could buy them from your local Sportscene store ... at about the same time they were introduced internationally. “South Africa’s sneakerheads can now expect to have what everyone else in the world have, we now have a global mindset,” said Poulos.

Sneakerheads Anthea Poulos and Stilo Magolides.

In the past, you pulled on your “cool kicks” over the weekend to hang out, now it has become a lifestyle and a culture, added Magolides. “All kids understand what an Air Force 1 is.” In South Africa, new models are introduced in stores like Sportscene even faster than what they are advertised on the internet.

Sneakers customised by guests.

The global sneaker market is worth $55-bn, in the US alone it is worth $28-bn, Poulos explained. The average age of a sneakerhead is 21 years, and they own 34 pairs on average – paying a maximum average price of $309.

The local product availability has changed the way people shop, she continued: people arrive in a store with a screen shot of the sneaker they want to buy. “It is immediate, they want it now. Purchasing online is immediate, and that is key for reaching the sneaker lover.”

Artist Dada illustrating her skills transforming a pair of sneakers into works of art.

Several sneaker-loving guests joined artist Dada Khanyisa, trying to emulate the sneaker art she created on a pair of their own.

Sneaker art requires plenty of concentration, Sports Trader’s Carin Hardisty found.