Founded in 1975, Green Cross became one of South Africa’s leading comfort footwear brands.
In 2012, the group was acquired by JSE-listed AVI, which owns Five Roses, Provita, Willards, Bakers and several fashion brands, for R382.5 million.
However, AVI has now decided to close the Green Cross retail stores across South Africa.
Speaking at the group’s annual results for the 2025 financial year, CEO Simon Crutchley said the decision was difficult, but was necessary due to the heightened imports of cheap replicas.
With AVI looking at the long-term return on deployed capital, the group believed it couldn’t afford to reinvest in its retail portfolio.
On a slightly positive note, Crutchley said that layoffs were minimal as staff were transported to other parts of the group’s retail business, with the group also operating Spitz, Kurt Geiger and Gant.
During the financial year, the group closed 10 Green Cross stores across the country. The remaining three stores will close in this financial year when their leases expire.
However, the Green Cross business will not completely shut down, with its sandals and school shoes still offered in the wholesale market.
The struggles facing the group’s footwear and apparel segment could be seen in its results, where revenue declined by 7.9% to R1.62 billion.
The group noted that the second half performance was impacted by the decision to close the Green Cross retail business, which required increased discounting to clear stock.
The segment’s gross profit margins were slightly lower and were impacted by increased stock provisions on discontinued Green Cross lines and increased discounting at lower margins.
Although its selling and administrative costs were contained, once-off costs increased due to the closure of Green Cross stores and increased marketing investment.
Operating profit decreased from R340.8 million last year, with the operating profit margin decreasing from 19.4% to 16.3%.
When excluding the impact of the Green Cross closure, the segment’s operating profit would have ended 12.1% lower with an operating profit margin of 18.9%.
Despite the struggles facing the footwear and apparel division, the overall group saw a somewhat strong performance, with the operating profit rising 7.8% to R3.6 billion.
