TJX Companies posts second quarter loss
TK Maxx owner TJX Companies has posted a net loss of $214.2 million in its second quarter after trade was impacted by store closures during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In the three month period ending 1 August, net sales were better than expected and reached $6.67 billion compared to $9.78 billion in the corresponding period last year.
Ernie Herrman, chief executive and president of TJX, said: “For the quarter, we were very pleased that both our top and bottom lines well exceeded our internal plans, despite our stores only being open for a little more than two thirds of the second quarter, and that our merchandise margin was excellent. Further, we saw especially strong sales at our HomeGoods and Homesense chains, as well as the home departments within our other chains, across geographies.”
More than 4,500 of the company’s worldwide stores and each of its online shopping websites have now reopened after Covid-19 lockdowns. TJX said it experienced “very strong” sales across all of its retail banners and countries when stores first reopened, which it attributed to pent-up demand. However, sales subsequently moderated and the company is now predicting that sales in reopened stores will drop by 10% to 20% in its third quarter .
Looking ahead, Herrman said: “As to the future, we are confident that when more customers are comfortable with in-store shopping, we will be in a great position to continue gaining market share as we have for many years. We have been a trusted, value leader for more than 40 years, and we see a long runway of successful growth ahead for TJX.”
