Finding a $30 Michael Kors bag... under a pile of prom dresses. Discount legend TJX is the company behind the "affordable splurge" trifecta: TJ Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods. In June, TJX's CEO made a bold corona-conomy statement: "Nothing will change." He said TJX would continue to pass on ramping up online shopping, which made up just 2% of its sales.
- TJX was set on not using ecommerce. It even shut down its websites while stores were closed. Fast-forward to November...
- TJX is launching an ecommerce platform for HomeGoods, since store traffic is slow. But it's not dropping its rebellious anti-ecommerce persona...
Treasure Hunt = still #1... TJX's CEO says customers still want to "feel the fabric" (beautiful). The new site is meant to complement and encourage in-store shopping. Shoppers love the "treasure hunt" — the joyful feeling of accomplishment after finding a $40 James Perse sweater after hours of rifling. The HomeGoods site is an extra way to ride the "House Hype" wave.
For some, ecommerce is a "nice-to-have"... for others — like Lululemon — it's a make-or-break necessity. TJX's same-store sales dipped only 5% last quarter, despite it having basically no online presence. It made $867M in profit — more than it earned in the same quarter last year, and way more than the $887M it lost when stores were closed. Ross is also ecommerce-avoidant, and it crushed earnings expectations last quarter.