While many retailers have been scrambling to pivot in a post-COVID world, TJ Maxx plans to do the opposite. The discount chain will not ramp up e-commerce or add new pick-up capabilities. Instead, TJ Maxx is focused on bringing consumers to their 4,500 physical stores worldwide.
“Strategically, nothing will change. We will not look to e-commerce as our major leveraging point to get us through COVID and out the other side,” said TJX Chief Executive Officer, Ernie Herrman.
TJ Maxx’s efforts will be to primarily focus on their brick-and-mortar stores while returning to some sort of normalcy after the pandemic. Currently, the chain has about 85% of their stores reopened. The retail chain understands that most consumers are ready to browse and visit stores after months of being stuck at home.
The brand was right about the pent-up demand, especially because shoppers have already been racing to reopened TJ Maxx stores. Their initial sales have been way above last year’s numbers across all states.
TJX’s “treasure hunt” experience is what keeps consumers returning, allowing them to search through constantly-changing merchandise and prices.
“In today’s environment, we believe this kind of shopping experience can serve as a break in the day, and as some ‘Me time’ for our customers, and in the future will continue to be a major draw for consumers to our stores,” said Herrman.
TJX Cos., which houses Marshalls, HomeGoods and other discount chains had stopped e-commerce sales completely during the lockdown. Their sites have opened back up again for consumers, but the brand is limiting the number of items for sale online. This approach differs drastically to other retailers who have aggressively focused their efforts on e-commerce.
Combined with the fact that TJ Maxx only gets 2% of sales from their site and the need for physical, personal interactions in retail shopping, it’s no surprise that TJX is straying away from the pack, and focusing on what works best for them — brick and mortar.
Source: COVID Changed Everything, Except TJX – WSJ, TJX Press Release Q1 2020
Photo Credit: Alamy
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About The TJX Companies, Inc.
The TJX Companies, Inc. is the leading off-price retailer of apparel and home fashions in the U.S. and worldwide. As of May 2, 2020, the end of the Company’s first quarter, the Company operated a total of 4,545 stores in nine countries, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Poland, Austria, the Netherlands, and Australia, and four e-commerce sites. These include 1,273 T.J. Maxx, 1,130 Marshalls, 814 HomeGoods, 46 Sierra, and 34 Homesense stores, as well as tjmaxx.com, marshalls.com, and sierra.com in the United States; 279 Winners, 139 HomeSense, and 100 Marshalls stores in Canada; 596 T.K. Maxx and 78 Homesense stores, as well as tkmaxx.com, in Europe; and 56 T.K. Maxx stores in Australia. TJX’s press releases and financial information are available at TJX.com.
