TJX reports strong June sales
(File photo: Stephan Savoia/AP)
TJX Cos., the Framingham company that operates such apparel and home furnishing retail chains as T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, and A.J. Wright, said that its June sales were above expectations and it raised its second-quarter outlook.
Many retailers were bracing for subpar June sales because of poor weather and a tough economy. A year ago, consumers had some money from government stimulus checks to spend, but that's not the case this year. In the current environment, retailers that offer lower prices, such as TJX chains, often fare better than pricier merchants.
At TJX, sales for the five-week period that ended July 4 were $1.84 billion, up 4 percent over the same period last year, the company said in a press release.
At stores open at least a year, June sales were up 4 percent. This metric is known as same-store sales, and it's a measure closely watched by Wall Street analysts in seeking to assess a retailer's performance. TJX refers to same-store sales as consolidated comparable store sales.
TJX president and chief executive Carol Meyrowitz said in a statement: "We are pleased that consolidated comparable store sales increased 4%, significantly above our expectations. We saw strong increases in customer traffic across our divisions as the extreme values we offer customers continue to resonate despite the challenging economic environment. Our strategies of running the business with lean inventories and buying close to need are serving us well by enabling us to flow fresh selections of exciting fashions and brands to our stores. With above-plan sales and strong merchandise margins for the first two months of the quarter, and July sales expected to exceed our previous guidance, we are raising our earnings outlook for the second quarter. We now expect second quarter earnings per share from continuing operations to be $.56 to $.59, over last year's very strong second quarter performance of $.48 per share."
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