TK Maxx owner’s thrill at the tills as savvy shoppers seek bargains
TJX Companies, the US-listed firm behind discount fashion retailer TK Maxx, said sales increased by six per cent to $6.9bn (£4.5bn) in the first quarter, as demand for its cut-price products continued to grow.
TJX runs 3,441 discount fashion and homeware shops across the US, Canada and Europe, and trades under brands including TJ Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods and Winners.
Sales rose to $6.9bn in the three months to 2 May, while like-for-like sales increased by five per cent. Diluted earnings per share were up eight per cent to $0.69 .
Chief executive Carol Meyrowitz, said: “Our outstanding values and exciting mix of apparel and home fashions continue to resonate with shoppers across all of our geographies. It was great to see that, similar to last quarter, comparable sales were almost entirely driven by customer traffic, and we had a significant increase in units sold.”
The group, which owns 416 TK Maxx stores in Europe that sell designer brands at discount prices, has thrived since the recession from shoppers seeking out bargains.
But while its other markets reported growth, the group said currency exchange headwinds caused net sales in Europe to fall by 2.3 per cent to $870m compared with $890m last year.