The owner of fashion brands Hobbs, Phase Eight and Whistles has been struck by a TFG London cyber attack, with customers receiving warning emails and the company confirming its investigation remains ongoing. Manchester Evening News reported the incident, which affects TFG London, the UK subsidiary of South African retail group The Foschini Group.
The Manchester city centre Hobbs store remains open as normal, the company says, though some customers may notice disruption online.
What happened and when
According to ITPro, a TFG London spokesperson confirmed the incident was identified on 11 October 2026, affecting IT systems across its Phase Eight, Hobbs and Whistles brands. External cybersecurity specialists were brought in, and the matter was reported to the relevant UK authorities.
In an email sent to Hobbs customers, TFG London said it had ‘activated our business continuity plan, engaged external cybersecurity experts, and informed relevant authorities’, adding that its investigation is continuing and that it is ‘working hard to get all our systems back up and running as quickly and safely as we can’.
Orders placed before 11 October will be processed and delivered as normal. Orders placed after that date may be ‘delayed’, though the company said there is no need to resubmit anything. ITV News reports that returns can be made in stores, with TFG London working on a solution for postal returns and promising to keep customers informed.
ITV News also confirmed that brands such as Inside Story and White Stuff have not been affected by the incident.
Payment data and personal information
TFG London sought to reassure customers on payment security. ‘Payment processing is carried out by a third-party provider,’ the company stated in its customer email. ‘Based on our investigation so far, we have no reason to believe that payment information is at risk.’
Whether any personal data was compromised remains under investigation. The company said it would notify customers directly if it determines their personal information was affected, and added that it does not currently believe account login details need to be changed.
As flagged by CyPro, several IT systems supporting the three brands remained unavailable during the initial response phase, leading to disruption to websites and e-commerce operations.
TFG London apologised to customers in the email: ‘We know this news may be unsettling, and we’re committed to keeping you updated as we have more information to share,’ adding separately that it was ‘very sorry for any inconvenience this incident has caused’.
The company also reminded customers that Hobbs would never seek passwords or full payment card details via email, text or phone. The investigation is ongoing.
