T.K. Maxx - History

History

In 1976, T.J. Maxx was founded in Framingham, MA, as a nameplate of the Zayre discount department store chain. When Zayre sold their own nameplate to Ames, a rival discount department store, Zayre was renamed as "TJX Companies, Incorporated".

The first European store opened in Bristol in 1994. The company modified the name to T.K. Maxx to avoid "confusion with the established British retail chain TJ Hughes (which is not affiliated with TJX)".

In 2003, T.K. Maxx became locked in a dispute over its plans to open a store at Piccadilly Circus, London. It had signed an agreement in February 2009 to occupy a 20,000-square-foot (1,858 m2) unit, formerly used by Virgin Megastores and later Zavvi, with a £1.55 million a year rent. The freehold to the land is owned by the Crown Estate which had the final decision over allowing the company to move into the unit. The Crown Estate rejected the plans, saying that it did not fit in with the strategy it had for the site which was meant to give the area an upmarket appeal. The decision was met with condemnation from publicist Max Clifford who launched a campaign in conjunction with Look magazine to persuade the Crown Estate to allow the store to open in the unit. T.K. Maxx went to court to appeal against the decision but failed, as Dutch retailer The Sting has now taken the building as their first UK store.

In 2007, T.K. Maxx began a slowing down of new store openings within the UK. Focus was given to revamping older inner city stores or relocating them. This decision led to the creation of the Maxx Maxx concept, a new department store format that saw T.K. Maxx get away from its budget reputation into a large store format with a wider product range.

The first store in Germany opened on 4 October 2007 in Lübeck. The chain hopes that this will be more successful than the company's earlier attempt at opening stores in the Netherlands between 1999 and 2001.

In August 2008, T.K. Maxx opened its first central London store on High Street Kensington, on the site formerly occupied by Habitat.

In March 2009 its e-commerce site was launched at first only selling handbags. The range of products has now been expanded and includes other accessories.

As from early 2011, UK stores ceased to charge for carrier bags, as the public reaction to charging was the number one customer services complaint.

• T.K. Maxx on Gracechurch Street, London.

• Interior of TK Maxx on Gracechurch Street, London.

• TK Maxx & HomeSense joint store in the MetroCentre, Gateshead.

• A typical T.J. Maxx store in Torrance, CA.