FRAMINGHAM, Mass. — The TJX Companies Inc. today said net sales increased 5% to $15.2 billion in the second quarter as comparable-store sales rose a better-than-expected 4%.
The nation’s largest off-price retailer said pre-tax profit margin increased 1.9 percentage points from a year earlier, to 13.3%, also exceeding its expectations for the quarter.
TJX raised its guidance for full-year profit margin and adjusted earnings. It also announced its intent to increase store growth to 4% next year, part of an accelerated plan to reach 7,500 stores globally.
TJX increased its store count by 23 in the second quarter, bringing its total to 5,285.
TJX said it returned $1.3 billion to shareholders in the quarter via share repurchases and dividends.
“I am very pleased with our above-plan consolidated results,” Ernie Herrman, the company’s president and chief executive, said in a statement. “While sales at Marmaxx were below our expectations, HomeGoods, TJX Canada, and TJX International all delivered terrific comp sales increases of 6% to 7%, which underscores the strength of our global diversified business.”
Data from Placer.ai on second-quarter store traffic suggests that visits to TJX banners in the United States were flat compared to a year ago. Nonetheless, the firm said, the banners (TJ Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, Homesense, and Sierra) collectively outperformed the 3.5% decline in foot traffic across the U.S. apparel category during the period.
“Looking ahead, the third quarter is off to a strong start, and we are seeing improvement at our Marmaxx division to start the quarter," Herrman said. Marmaxx is the company's largest division, encompassing T.J. Maxx, Marshall's and Sierra banners.
"Availability of branded, quality merchandise continues to be outstanding, and we have many initiatives in place to drive sales and traffic in the upcoming fall and holiday shopping seasons,” Herrman said.
The company's HomeGoods banner increasingly stands out as a key driver, according to Rachel Wolff, retail and ecommerce analyst at Emarketer.
"The strength of the home business reinforces how well TJX is positioned for a consumer who still wants to spend, but is gravitating toward affordable indulgences and smaller ways to refresh their homes," Wolff said. "More broadly, TJX continues to benefit from making discovery part of the value proposition: its constantly changing assortment turns inventory unpredictability into a reason to come back and see what’s new."
