TJX in store expansion push

While other retailers make news by posting grim first quarter results and closing stores., the nation’s leading off-price retailer is making headlines by doing just the opposite.



Amid strong first quarter results that included a 7% rise in same-store sales, TJX Cos. said it plans to open about 150 more stores during the rest of this year, on top of the 47 stores it opened in its first quarter.



The company, whose store banners include Home Goods, Marshalls and T.J. Maxx, is not planning on closing any stores this year. It has set a target of 5,600 stores worlwide in its existing markets, but could expand that number as it contemplates new areas.



“We are confident that we can continue to open stores around the world and capitalize on first mover advantages,” CEO Ernie Herrman said on the chain’s earnings call. “We have decades of operating expertise in the U.S. and internationally, a disciplined approach to real estate and a highly integrated global supply chain and distribution network.”



TJX currently operates 3,661 stores.