Privacy policy

Romens Clothing Company (Pty) Ltd (“Romens”, “we”, “us”) respects your privacy. This policy explains how we collect, use, share, and protect your personal information, and what rights you have.

It applies to everyone we deal with — customers in our stores, visitors to www.romens.co.za, mailing list subscribers, job applicants, and the people we deal with at our suppliers.

We process personal information in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (“POPIA”).

Romens is the responsible party for the personal information described in this policy.

• Full legal name: Romens Clothing Company (Pty) Ltd
• Registration number: [TO CONFIRM: company registration number]
• Registered address: [TO CONFIRM: registered office / head office address]
• Information Officer: [TO CONFIRM: full name of the Information Officer]
• Deputy Information Officer: [TO CONFIRM: full name(s) of any Deputy Information Officer]
• Email for privacy matters: [TO CONFIRM: Information Officer email, e.g. privacy@romens.co.za]

Our Information Officer is registered with the Information Regulator and is responsible for our compliance with POPIA and with the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 (“PAIA”). See our PAIA Manual.

We collect only what we need for the purposes set out below.

When you contact us or visit a store

• your name and surname;
• your email address and telephone number;
• the store you selected and the content of your enquiry;
• details of alterations, tailoring or special orders, including measurements where you ask us to keep them;
• proof of purchase details when you exchange or return an item.

When you join our mailing list

• your name and email address;
• your marketing preferences and whether you have opted in or out;
• whether you opened or clicked a message we sent you.

When you use this website

• your IP address, browser type, device type, operating system and language;
• the pages you viewed, the time of your visit, and the site you arrived from;
• information stored in cookies — see our Cookie Policy.

In our stores

• CCTV footage, recorded for the safety of our customers and staff and for the prevention of crime. Notices are displayed at the entrance to each store.

If you apply for a job with us

• your CV and the information in it, including your employment history, qualifications and references.

We do not collect payment card numbers through this website, and we do not store card numbers after an in-store purchase — card payments are processed by our bank’s payment terminals.

We collect personal information:

• directly from you — in store, over the phone, by email, through a form on this website, or through our social media pages;
• automatically, through cookies and server logs, when you use the website;
• from our CCTV systems in store;
• occasionally from third parties, such as a recruitment agency or a reference you have nominated.

Where POPIA requires it, we collect information directly from you. Where we collect it from another source, we do so only as section 12 of POPIA permits.

We process personal information for the following purposes, each with a lawful basis under section 11 of POPIA:

We do not use your personal information for automated decision-making that produces a legal effect for you, and we do not sell your personal information.

We will only send you electronic marketing — email or SMS — if you have asked us to, or if you are an existing customer, we obtained your details in the course of a sale, and we are marketing our own similar goods. This follows section 69 of POPIA and section 45 of ECTA.

Every marketing message we send identifies us as the sender and gives you a free way to opt out. You may also unsubscribe at any time by:

• clicking the unsubscribe link in any message we send you;
• emailing [TO CONFIRM: Information Officer email, e.g. privacy@romens.co.za]; or
• telling any of our stores.

Opting out of marketing does not stop us from contacting you about an enquiry, an order, or an alteration you have with us.

We do not sell or rent your personal information. We share it only where we need to, and only with:

• Operators who process information on our behalf and under our instruction — our website host, our email and marketing platform, our IT support, and our accounting and payroll providers. Each is bound by a written contract requiring confidentiality and appropriate security, as section 21 of POPIA requires.
• Professional advisers — our auditors, attorneys and insurers, where they need the information to advise us.
• Banks and payment processors, for in-store card payments.
• Law enforcement, regulators or a court, where the law obliges us to disclose, or where disclosure is necessary to establish or defend a legal claim.
• A purchaser, if we sell or restructure our business — subject to the same protections set out in this policy.

Some of the services we use — email, website hosting, and marketing tools — store information on servers outside South Africa.

Where that happens, we transfer personal information only as section 72 of POPIA allows: where the recipient is bound by a law, binding corporate rules or a written agreement giving an adequate level of protection, where you have consented, or where the transfer is necessary to perform our contract with you.

You may ask us which providers we use and where they hold information.

We keep personal information only for as long as we need it for the purpose we collected it, or for as long as the law requires.

When a retention period ends we delete the information, or de-identify it so that it can no longer be linked to you.

As section 19 of POPIA requires, we take appropriate, reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against loss, damage, unlawful access and unlawful processing. These include:

• access controls, so that only staff who need information can reach it;
• encrypted connections (HTTPS) on this website;
• secured premises and restricted access to our CCTV systems;
• written agreements with our operators requiring equivalent protection;
• staff training on handling customer information;
• regular review of the security measures we have in place.

No system is completely secure. If a security compromise affects your personal information, we will notify you and the Information Regulator as section 22 of POPIA requires.

Under POPIA you have the right to:

• be told that we hold information about you, and to access it — sections 23 and 24, read with PAIA;
• ask us to correct or delete information that is inaccurate, irrelevant, excessive, out of date, incomplete, misleading, or obtained unlawfully;
• object, on reasonable grounds, to our processing of your information;
• withdraw your consent at any time, where our processing is based on consent — this does not affect processing that already took place;
• object to direct marketing at any time, free of charge;
• not be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing that affects you legally or substantially;
• complain to the Information Regulator; and
• institute civil proceedings for a breach of your rights under POPIA.

Write to our Information Officer at [TO CONFIRM: Information Officer email, e.g. privacy@romens.co.za], or to our registered address, and tell us what you would like us to do.

For a formal request we will ask you to complete the prescribed form:

• Access to a record — Form 02 under the PAIA Regulations. Our PAIA Manual sets out the procedure and the prescribed fees.
• Correction or deletion of personal information — Form 2 under the POPIA Regulations.
• Objection to processing — Form 1 under the POPIA Regulations.

We will ask for proof of identity before we act on a request, so that we do not disclose your information to someone else. We respond within 30 days, and will tell you if we need an extension that the law allows.

Correcting or deleting information is free. A request for access to a record may attract the fees prescribed under PAIA.

We do not knowingly collect the personal information of a child under 18 without the consent of a competent person, as section 34 of POPIA requires.

Our mailing list is intended for adults. If you believe a child has given us personal information, please contact our Information Officer and we will delete it.

This website uses cookies and similar technologies. Our Cookie Policy sets out which cookies we use, what they do, how long they last, and how to control or delete them through your browser.

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal information, please raise it with our Information Officer first — we would like the chance to put it right.

You also have the right to complain directly to:

The Information Regulator (South Africa)
JD House, 27 Stiemens Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2001
P.O. Box 31533, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2017
General enquiries: enquiries@inforegulator.org.za
POPIA complaints: POPIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za
PAIA complaints: PAIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za
Website: inforegulator.org.za

We may update this policy from time to time. The current version is always published on this page, and the “last updated” date shows when it last changed.

Where a change materially affects how we process your personal information, we will bring it to your attention.

Romens Clothing Company (Pty) Ltd
Information Officer: [TO CONFIRM: full name of the Information Officer]
Email: [TO CONFIRM: Information Officer email, e.g. privacy@romens.co.za]
Registered address: [TO CONFIRM: registered office / head office address]

Or speak to any of our stores:

• Canal Walk — Shop 518, Upper Level, Canal Walk Shopping Centre, Century City, Cape Town, 7446 · 021 555 4993 · cw@romens.co.za
• Tygervalley — Shop 577, Tygervalley Shopping Centre, Willie Van Schoor Drive, Bellville Park, Cape Town, 7530 · 021 914 2122 · tv@romens.co.za
• Somerset Mall — Shop 64, Ground Floor, Somerset Mall, Somerset West, Cape Town, 7130 · 021 065 1763 · ssm@romens.co.za