To The Maxx

Using discounts to shift clothes is no novelty in fashion retailing. Indeed, in the current climate, with competition fierce and consumers hesitant, it is hard to avoid. But what marks out T.J. Maxx and other “off-price” retailers is that most of their stock is from habitually pricey designer labels, at drastic reductions. TJX, the parent company of T.J. Maxx and a handful of other off-price chains, rarely gives interviews, like its closest competitor, Ross. But their model is essentially as follows: when the designer labels produce more clothes than normal shops will sell at full price, TJX and Ross buy them at a deep discount, then resell them. As a strategy for global domination, it sounds underwhelming. But TJX and Ross are booming. Read more at The Economist.