August 1, 2019 – Discount retailer, Zayre Corp, was responsible for the opening of the first two T.J.Maxx stores in the U.S. in 1977, which were both located in Massachusetts. T.J.Maxx was considered an off-price store, which was different from a traditional discount store because a retailer buys merchandise from manufacturers that have excess inventory and negotiates prices below wholesale. By the late 1980s, Zayre Corp was reconstructed and formed three brands – T.J.Maxx, Hit or Miss, and Chadwick’s of Boston. These stores were the initial brands that would eventually become The TJX Companies. Today, the retail giant encompasses T.J.Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, HomeSense, Sierra, Winners, and T.K.Maxx.
After T.J.Maxx was established in the U.S., HomeGoods launched in 1992 and offered décor and fashions from around the world.
In 1994, TJX introduced T.K.Maxx in the U.K. and Ireland, which would become Europe’s only major brick-and-mortar, off-price retailer of apparel and home fashions. The new ‘K’ initial came about to avoid confusion with another prominent retailer called T.J. Hughes.
The following year, TJX acquired Marshalls, the second largest off-price retailer in the U.S. At this time, Marshalls had 496 stores. Combined, T.J.Maxx and Marshalls operated over 1,000 locations nationwide. In the same year, TJX sold the Hit or Miss chain and a year later, sold Chadwick’s of Boston.
HomeSense was introduced in Canada in 2001, offering similar products to HomeGoods and would later make its debut in the U.K. in 2008 and the U.S. in 2017. Today, TJX Companies operate over 4,000 stores worldwide and generates nearly 22 billion dollars in sales.
Goodman Real Estate has made over 30 deals with The TJX Companies over the past two decades and continues to have a great relationship with the global retail chain.