CompanyGraph
The TJX Companies, Inc.
TJX · NYSE Arca · United States
Buys surplus goods from brands like Nike and Ralph Lauren at steep discounts and sells them through 4,800+ stores.
TJX Companies buys up branded clothing and home goods — from manufacturers like Nike, Calvin Klein, and Ralph Lauren — that those brands need to clear quietly when they've overproduced, because selling surplus through their own stores or department stores would undercut the full prices those channels depend on. TJX's buyers, through relationships with more than 21,000 vendors built over years of repeated deals, know each manufacturer's production cycle well enough to spot cancelable orders early and negotiate steep discounts on goods the vendor is quietly desperate to move. Those goods then flow into T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, and sister chains across 4,800 stores, where the inventory changes so unpredictably that shoppers come back often just to see what's arrived — which is also what makes TJX useful to vendors in the first place, because only a network that large can physically absorb a truckload of irregular, mixed-size surplus and make it disappear before it damages the brand. The whole arrangement depends on manufacturers continuing to overproduce and misjudge demand; if they got meaningfully better at forecasting, or built their own quiet clearance channels, the surplus would dry up and TJX's deep vendor relationships would have nothing left to negotiate over.
How does this company make money?
TJX buys overstock goods from brands at a steep discount and sells them in its stores at a markup. The profit on each sale depends on how large the gap is between what TJX paid the vendor and what the shopper pays at the register — the bigger that gap, the better the margin.
What makes this company hard to replace?
Shoppers build a habit of visiting frequently because the inventory changes constantly — missing a visit might mean missing a specific item forever. That treasure-hunt routine is hard to replicate at a store with stable, predictable shelves. On the supply side, the vendor relationships that fill those shelves took years to build and cannot simply be transferred to a rival.
What limits this company?
TJX can only sell what brands accidentally overproduce. When manufacturers get better at predicting what will sell — or when overall production shrinks — there is simply less surplus available, no matter how many stores TJX operates or how many buyers it employs.
What does this company depend on?
TJX cannot run without surplus inventory from branded manufacturers like Nike, Calvin Klein, and Ralph Lauren. It also depends on lease agreements for its 4,800-plus store locations across North America, Europe, and Australia; buying offices in sourcing hubs including New York, Boston, and international fashion centers; distribution centers anchored by a facility in Framingham, Massachusetts; and inventory systems that can handle the rapid, constant turnover of thousands of different product types.
Who depends on this company?
Bargain-hunting shoppers who would lose access to discounted brand-name goods if TJX stores closed. Commercial landlords in strip malls and shopping centers who rely on TJX as an anchor tenant that pulls in foot traffic for other nearby shops. Branded manufacturers who depend on TJX as a discreet way to clear surplus without letting the public see their goods marked down anywhere that could undercut full-price stores.
How does this company scale?
Standardized store layouts and centralized purchasing systems mean TJX can open new locations and expand buying volume without reinventing the wheel each time. What does not scale easily is the buying talent itself — finding and keeping experienced buyers who can quickly judge fashion trends and negotiate one-off deals with vendors is the constraint that grows harder, not easier, as the company expands.
What external forces can significantly affect this company?
Disruptions to global manufacturing supply chains can reduce the volume of surplus goods available for TJX to buy. When household incomes fall or consumer credit tightens, shoppers spend less on clothing and home goods even at discounted prices. Changes to import tariffs on textiles and finished clothing alter how much TJX pays to bring merchandise in, which squeezes the gap between what it pays and what it charges.
Where is this company structurally vulnerable?
If branded manufacturers got good enough at forecasting demand — or built their own quiet clearance channels — they would stop needing TJX. The supply of surplus goods would dry up, and the decades of buying relationships TJX has assembled would have nothing left to buy.