TJ Maxx 2015 Annual Report Download - page 8

growing our loyalty programs in the U.S., Canada and
U.K. This is an important initiative, as customers who
shop more than one of our retail chains, on average,
spend considerably more with us.
E-commerce remains an important element of our strat-
egies to drive customer traffic. We view e-commerce
as complementary to our very successful brick-and-
mortar business and a way to introduce consumers who
discover us online to our stores. We are maintaining our
methodical approach to “Grow Smart.” This includes
offering a differentiated mix online to drive customer
traffic and sales that are generally incremental to our
brick-and-mortar business. We are delighted to offer
consumers a convenient way to shop our values 24/7!
We are committed to upgrading the customer
shopping experience and making our stores better
every day. Our overall customer satisfaction scores
reached a record high in 2015, yet we still see room
to become even better. In 2016, we plan to remodel
approximately 240 stores across the Company,
incorporating the valuable feedback we receive from
our customers. We are convinced that our focus on
the shopping experience, along with our trend-right
merchandise and great values, will help our retail
brands become even more top of mind and must-
shop destinations!
GLOBAL STORE GROWTH
We see vast potential to expand our retail chains
around the world. We believe we can grow our store
base by more than 50%, to 5,600 stores long term.
This growth reflects the opportunity we see with
just
our current chains in
just our current markets alone .
Beyond this, we are confident our value concept can
work in any country where consumers seek great
fashion and brands at amazing prices. In 2016, we
plan to add about 195 stores, which would represent
5% store growth. In today’s volatile retail environment,
it’s worth noting that our plans for 2016 reflect no
store closings, which speaks to the fundamental
strength of our business, our disciplined approach
to real estate, and our decades
of operating expertise in the U.S.
and internationally.
At MARMAXX, we are confident
significant potential remains to
continue growing our largest,
most profitable division. During
2015, Marshalls opened its 1,000th
store, reaching an exciting milestone and joining
T.J. Maxx in being a 1,000-plus store chain. We believe
Marmaxx can grow to 3,000 stores long term, which
would be over 800 more stores than today. Underscoring
our confidence is this division’s long track record of
consistent, excellent results. Marmaxx delivered a 4%
annual comparable store sales increase in 2015, which
is remarkable for a division with stores that average 18
years in age. Marmaxx also maintained very strong profits
despite the negative impact of our wage increases. We
have been successfully locating stores closer to one
another and are encouraged by the attractive returns of
our new stores. In addition, we see meaningful oppor-
tunity to further penetrate both urban and rural markets.
We were proud to open our 500th HOMEGOODS
store in 2015 and even more excited about the white
space we see to bring this chain to more U.S. markets.
There are about 85 U.S. markets where we operate a
T.J. Maxx or Marshalls that do not have a HomeGoods,
which speaks to our opportunity to bring our values
to new markets with shoppers already loyal to TJX
retail chains. We believe we can almost double the
size of HomeGoods to 1,000 stores long term. Giving
us confidence in our continued successful growth
are HomeGoods’ consistently strong results. This
division’s annual comparable store sales increases
have averaged 7% in the last seven years! Customers
love HomeGoods’ ever-changing, unique selections
of home fashions from around the world. HomeGoods’
in-store inventories turn the fastest of all of our divisions,
with virtually one third of an average HomeGoods store
changing every week, which is one of the reasons this
chain is such an exciting shopping destination!
At TJX CANADA, which includes Winners, HomeSense
and Marshalls, we celebrated our 25th year in Canada in
2015! This division achieved a 12% comparable store
sales increase, with double-digit increases every quarter of
the year. Since we acquired Winners as a five-store chain
in 1990, we have built this division to become a leading
Canadian retailer with three successful chains. TJX Canada
is by far the largest off-price apparel and home fashions
retailer in Canada, yet we still see very solid store growth
potential in that country. Our long-term growth estimate of
500 stores represents our potential to add more than 100
stores, primarily reflecting the opportunity
we see for Marshalls, our newest chain
in Canada, and further expansion
of Winners into rural communi-
ties. Our customers in Canada
are extremely loyal, and we are
convinced that our long track record
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