How Broken Is Retail? It’s Not If You Look At TJX

When I walk into a T.J. Maxx store, I get excited about the products, the throngs of customers and the values the store offers. It is different from my visits to Macy’s or Nordstrom stores, where everything is rigid and almost has a museum quality. That is undermining retail. A rare bright spot is T.J. Maxx parent TJX. Its stores have won the trust of customers and reap strong sales as a reward. Its approach can teach us lessons that must be learned for survival of other chains. TJX has a tight administrative staff. Sure, there is a president but the C-suite is very sparse. TJX has only a CEO and four Senior Vice Presidents, one of which is their CFO. In sharp contrast, the Macy’s latest annual report lists 10 “C” positions, including the necessary CEO and CFO. There is also a chief merchandising officer, chief legal officer and secretary, chief omnichannel and operations officer, chief stores and human resources officer, chief private brands officer, chief marketing officer, chief strategic analytics and innovation officer and a chief merchandising planning officer. Every one of these positions comes with a corner suite, big windows and especially a substantial staff. I wonder if these good people could accomplish their objectives just as well without all the fancy trappings. It may be that some needed the title or they would have left. Read more at Forbes.