Well, there is some joy in retail’s Mudville, as TJX, the long-running champion of off-price sales, posted yet another quarter of solid results.
Retail’s most beloved metric, same-store sales, were on the incline, up 7 percent over this time last year, and beating last year’s 5 percent Q1 growth. All in, sales were $7.5 billion, while net income was $508 million and earnings per share were up 10 percent at 76 cents (from 60 cents). For the break down of those earnings by store chain, Marmaxx (T.J. Maxx and Marshalls) saw sales increased 6 percent and HomeGoods increased 9 percent. TJX Canada also saw a sharp increase, with comparable store sales jumping 14 percent while TJX International (Europe and Australia) had a 4-percent increase.
TJX President and CEO Ernie Herrman was unsurprisingly cheerful about the result.
“We are particularly pleased with our very strong customer traffic, which drove the comp increases at every division,” Herrman said. “This tells us that our strategies to bring consumers exciting values on an eclectic and ever-changing mix of the right fashions and brands, sourced from across the globe, are working. We are confident that we are growing our customer base and gaining market share.”
Herrman also expects big things from the rest of 2016. The company is now looking for $3.35 to $3.42 a share, which would represent a 1 percent to 3 percent increase over $3.33 a share in fiscal 2015 ended January 2016. Management indicated that wage increases and foreign exchange may cost about 6 percent of earnings. Comparable store increases are projected to increase 2-3 percent.
“We see many opportunities in the U.S. and internationally for continued successful growth. We are extremely focused on achieving our goals for 2016 and motivated to surpass them,” Herrman said. “TJX has an exciting future ahead, and we have a strategic long-term vision to grow to be a $40 billion company and beyond.”
Currently, there are 3,661 TJX-operated stores nationwide, following the addition of 47 units during Q1.
