EDGAR 10-K Filing

Company CIK: 109198
Filing Year: 2022
Filename: 109198_10-K_2022_0000109198-22-000008.json

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ITEM 1. BUSINESS
ITEM 1. Business
BUSINESS OVERVIEW
The TJX Companies, Inc. (together with its subsidiaries, “TJX,” the “Company,” “we,” or “our”) is the leading off-price apparel and home fashions retailer in the United States and worldwide. We have nearly 4,700 stores and five distinctive branded e-commerce sites that offer a rapidly changing assortment of quality, fashionable, brand name and designer merchandise at prices generally 20% to 60% below full-price retailers’ (including department, specialty, and major online retailers) regular prices on comparable merchandise, every day.
Our mission is to deliver great value to our customers every day. In our stores and online, we offer consumers our value proposition of brand, fashion, price and quality. Our opportunistic buying strategies and flexible business model differentiate us from traditional retailers. We offer a treasure hunt shopping experience and a rapid turn of inventories relative to traditional retailers. Our goal is to create a sense of excitement and urgency for our customers and encourage frequent customer visits. We acquire merchandise in a variety of ways to support that goal. We reach a broad range of customers across income levels with our value proposition on a wide range of items. Our strategies and operations are synergistic across our retail chains. As a result, we are able to leverage our expertise throughout our business, sharing information, best practices, initiatives and new ideas, and to develop talent across our company. Further, we can leverage the substantial buying power of our businesses with our global vendor relationships.
During fiscal 2022, our business operations continued to be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the temporary closures and reopenings of some of our stores, the pandemic has led to continued modifications of our operations, and has had an impact on our results of operations, financial position and liquidity, as well as consumer behavior. See Risk Factors and Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations below for more information.
In this report, fiscal 2022 means the fiscal year ended January 29, 2022; fiscal 2021 means the fiscal year ended January 30, 2021 and fiscal 2020 means the fiscal year ended February 1, 2020. Fiscal 2023 means the fiscal year ending January 28, 2023. Unless otherwise indicated, all store information in this Item 1 is as of January 29, 2022, and references to store square footage are to gross square feet.
Our Businesses
We operate our business in four main segments: Marmaxx and HomeGoods, both in the U.S., TJX Canada and TJX International. In addition to our four main segments, we operate the Sierra business. The results of Sierra are included with the Marmaxx segment.
MARMAXX
Our T.J. Maxx and Marshalls chains in the United States (“Marmaxx”) are collectively the largest off-price retailer in the United States with a total of 2,432 stores. We founded T.J. Maxx in 1976 and acquired Marshalls in 1995. Both chains sell family apparel (including footwear and accessories), home fashions (including home basics, decorative accessories and giftware) and other merchandise. We primarily differentiate T.J. Maxx and Marshalls through different product assortment, including an expanded assortment of jewelry and accessories and a high-end designer section called The Runway at T.J. Maxx and a full line of footwear and a broader men’s offering at Marshalls, as well as varying in-store initiatives. This differentiated shopping experience at T.J. Maxx and Marshalls encourages our customers to shop both chains. Marmaxx currently operates two e-commerce sites, tjmaxx.com, launched in 2013 and marshalls.com, launched in 2019.
Sierra, acquired in 2012 and rebranded from Sierra Trading Post in 2018, is a leading off-price retailer of brand name active and outdoor apparel, footwear, and gear (including sporting goods, snow and water sport, camping, fishing) for the whole family, as well as home fashions and pet. Sierra operates sierra.com and 59 retail stores in the U.S.
HOMEGOODS
Our HomeGoods chain, introduced in 1992, is the leading off-price retailer of home fashions in the U.S. Through its 850 stores and its e-commerce site homegoods.com launched in 2021, HomeGoods offers an eclectic assortment of home fashions, including furniture, rugs, lighting, soft home, decorative accessories, tabletop and cookware as well as expanded pet, kids and gourmet food departments. In 2017, we launched our Homesense chain in the U.S. Our 39 Homesense stores complement HomeGoods, offering a differentiated mix and expanded departments, such as large furniture, ceiling lighting and rugs, as well as a general store and an entertaining marketplace.
TJX CANADA
Our TJX Canada segment operates the Winners, HomeSense and Marshalls chains in Canada. Winners is the leading off-price family apparel and home fashions retailer in Canada and was acquired by TJX in 1990. Winners operates 293 stores, with select stores offering jewelry and some featuring The Runway, a high-end designer department. HomeSense introduced the off-price home fashions concept to Canada in 2001. This chain operates 147 stores and offers an array of home decor, basics, furniture, and seasonal home merchandise. Marshalls, launched in Canada in 2011, operates 106 stores and offers off-price values on family apparel and home fashions. Marshalls has an expanded dress department, and The CUBE, a juniors’ department.
TJX INTERNATIONAL
Our TJX International segment operates the T.K. Maxx and Homesense chains in Europe and the T.K. Maxx chain in Australia. Launched in 1994, T.K. Maxx introduced off-price retail to Europe and remains Europe’s only major brick-and-mortar off-price retailer of apparel and home fashions. With 618 stores in Europe, T.K. Maxx operates in the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Poland, Austria and the Netherlands. Through its stores and its e-commerce site for the U.K., tkmaxx.com, T.K. Maxx offers a merchandise mix similar to T.J. Maxx. We brought the off-price home fashions concept to Europe, opening Homesense in the U.K. in 2008 and in Ireland in 2017. Its 77 stores offer a merchandise mix of home fashions similar to that of HomeGoods in the U.S. and HomeSense in Canada. We acquired Trade Secret in Australia in 2015 and re-branded it under the T.K. Maxx name during 2017. The merchandise offering at T.K. Maxx in Australia's 68 stores is comparable to T.J. Maxx.
Flexible Business Model
Our flexible off-price business model, including our opportunistic buying, inventory management, logistics and flexible store layouts, is designed to deliver our customers a compelling value proposition of fashionable, quality, brand name and designer merchandise at excellent values every day. Our buying and inventory management strategies give us flexibility to adjust our merchandise assortments more frequently than traditional retailers, and the design and operation of our stores and distribution centers support this flexibility. Our buyers have more visibility into consumer, fashion and market trends and pricing when we buy closer to need, which can help us “buy smarter” and reduce our markdown exposure. Our selling floor space is flexible, without walls between departments and largely free of permanent fixtures, so we can easily expand and contract departments to accommodate the merchandise we purchase. Our logistics and distribution operations are designed to support our global buying strategies and to facilitate quick, efficient and differentiated delivery of merchandise to our stores, with a goal of delivering the right merchandise to the right stores at the right time.
Opportunistic Buying
As an off-price retailer, our buying practices, which we refer to as opportunistic buying, differentiate us from traditional retailers. Our overall global buying strategy is to acquire merchandise on an ongoing basis that will enable us to offer a desirable and rapidly changing mix of branded, designer and other quality merchandise in our stores at prices below regular prices for comparable merchandise at full-price retailers, including department, specialty, and major online retailers. We seek out and select merchandise from the broad range of opportunities in the market to achieve this end. Our global buying organization, which numbers over 1,200 Associates and has offices across 4 continents in 12 countries, executes this opportunistic buying strategy, buying merchandise from more than 100 countries in a variety of ways, depending on market conditions and other factors.
We take advantage of opportunities to acquire merchandise at substantial discounts that regularly arise from the production and flow of inventory in the apparel and home fashions marketplace. These opportunities include, among others, closeouts from brands, manufacturers and other retailers; special production direct from brands and factories; order cancellations and manufacturer overruns. Our global buying strategies are intentionally flexible to allow us to react to frequently changing opportunities and trends in the market and to adjust how and what we source as well as when we source it. Our goal is to operate with lean inventory levels compared to conventional retailers to give us the flexibility to seek out and to take advantage of these opportunities as they arise, close to the time it is needed in our stores and online and when we have more visibility into fashion trends and price. In contrast to traditional retailers, which tend to order most of their goods far in advance of the time the product appears on the selling floor, our merchants generally remain in the marketplace for goods throughout the year, frequently looking for opportunities to buy merchandise. We buy much of our merchandise for the current or immediately upcoming selling season. We also buy some merchandise that is available in the market with the intention of storing it for sale, typically in future selling seasons. We generally make these purchases, referred to as packaway, in response to opportunities to buy merchandise that we believe has the right combination of brand, fashion, price and quality to supplement the product we expect to be available to purchase later for those future seasons. We also acquire some merchandise that we offer under in-house brands or brands that are licensed to us. We develop some of this merchandise ourselves in order to supplement the depth of, or fill gaps in, our expected merchandise assortment.
Manufacturers, retailers and other vendors make up our expansive universe of approximately 21,000 vendors, including thousands of new vendors in 2021, across the globe, which provides us substantial and diversified access to merchandise. We have not experienced difficulty in obtaining sufficient quality merchandise for our business in either favorable or difficult retail environments and expect this will continue as we continue to grow. We believe a number of factors provide us excellent access on an ongoing basis to leading branded merchandise and make us an attractive channel for many vendors in the market. We are typically willing to purchase less-than-full assortments of items, styles and sizes as well as quantities ranging from small to very large; we are able to disperse merchandise across our geographically diverse network of stores and to target specific markets; we typically pay promptly according to our payment terms; we generally do not ask for typical retail concessions (such as advertising, promotional and markdown allowances), delivery concessions (such as drop shipments to stores or delayed deliveries) or return privileges; and we have an excellent credit rating.
Inventory Management
We offer our customers a rapidly changing selection of merchandise to create a treasure hunt experience in our stores and to spur frequent customer visits. To achieve this, we seek to turn the inventory in our stores rapidly, regularly offering fresh selections of apparel and home fashions at excellent values. Our specialized inventory planning, purchasing, monitoring and markdown systems, coupled with distribution center storage, processing, handling and shipping systems, enable us to tailor the merchandise in our stores to local preferences and demographics, achieve rapid in-store inventory turnover on a vast array of products and generally sell through most merchandise within the period we planned. We make pricing and markdown decisions and store inventory replenishment determinations centrally, using information provided by specialized computer systems designed to move inventory through our stores in a timely and disciplined manner. We invest in our supply chain with the goal of continuing to operate with low inventory levels, to ship more efficiently and quickly, and to more precisely and effectively allocate merchandise to each store.
Pricing
Our mission is to deliver great value to our customers every day. We do this by offering quality, fashionable, brand name and designer merchandise in our stores with retail prices that are generally 20% to 60% below full-price retailers’ (including department, specialty, and major online retailers) regular prices on comparable merchandise, every day. We do not generally engage in promotional pricing activity such as sales or coupons. We have generally been able to react to price fluctuations in the wholesale market to maintain our pricing gap relative to prices offered by traditional retailers as well as our merchandise margins through various economic cycles.
Low Cost Operations
We operate with a low cost structure compared to many traditional retailers. We focus aggressively on expenses throughout our business. Our advertising is generally focused on promoting our retail banners rather than individual products, including at times promoting multiple banners together, which contributes to our advertising budget (as a percentage of sales) remaining low compared to many traditional retailers. We design our stores to provide a pleasant, convenient shopping environment without spending heavily on store fixtures. Additionally, our distribution network is designed to run cost effectively.
Customer Service/Shopping Experience
We strategically renovate and upgrade our stores across our retail banners to enhance our customers’ shopping experience and help drive sales. Although we offer a self-service format, we train our store Associates to provide friendly and helpful customer service and seek to staff our stores to deliver a positive shopping experience. We typically offer customer-friendly return policies. We accept a variety of payment methods including cash, credit cards and debit cards. We also offer TJX-branded credit cards in the U.S. through a bank, but do not own the customer receivables.
Distribution
We operate distribution centers encompassing approximately 24 million square feet in six countries. These centers are generally large, and built to suit our specific, off-price business model, with a combination of automated systems and manual processes to manage the variety of merchandise we acquire. We ship substantially all of our merchandise to our stores through a network of distribution centers, fulfillment centers and warehouses as well as shipping centers operated by third parties.
Store Growth
Expansion of our business through the addition of new stores continues to be an important part of our global growth strategy. The following table provides store growth information for our four major segments for the two most recently completed fiscal years, as well as our estimates of the long-term store growth potential of these segments in their current geographies:
Approximate
Average Store
Size (square feet) Number of Stores at Year End Estimated Store
Potential
Fiscal 2021 Fiscal 2022
Marmaxx:
T.J. Maxx 27,000 1,271 1,284
Marshalls 28,000 1,131 1,148
Total Marmaxx 2,402 2,432 3,000
HomeGoods:
HomeGoods 23,000 821 850
Homesense 27,000 34 39
Total HomeGoods 855 889 1,500
TJX Canada:
Winners 27,000 280 293
HomeSense 23,000 143 147
Marshalls 26,000 102 106
Total TJX Canada 525 546 650
TJX International:
T.K. Maxx (Europe) 28,000 602 618
Homesense (Europe) 19,000 78 77
T.K. Maxx (Australia) 21,000 62 68
Total TJX International 742 763 1,125 (a)
TJX Total(b)
4,572 4,689 6,275
(a)Reflects store growth potential for T.K. Maxx in current geographies and for Homesense in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
(b)Includes 48 Sierra stores in fiscal 2021, and 59 Sierra stores for fiscal 2022. Sierra stores are not included in estimated store potential.
Some of our home fashion stores are co-located with one of our apparel stores in a “combo” or superstore format. We count each of the stores in the combo or superstore format as a separate store.
Competition
The retail apparel and home fashion business is highly competitive. We compete on the basis of numerous factors including brand, fashion, price, quality, selection and freshness; in-store and online shopping experience and service; reputation and store location. We compete with local, regional, national and international department, specialty, off-price, discount, warehouse and outlet stores as well as other retailers that sell apparel, home fashions and other merchandise that we sell, whether in stores, online, or through other media or channels.
Human Capital
As of January 29, 2022, we had approximately 340,000 employees (who we refer to as Associates), many of whom work less than 40 hours per week. Approximately 86% of these Associates worked in our retail stores. We hire thousands of temporary employees each year, particularly during the peak back-to-school and holiday seasons. We offer positions at a variety of levels in our stores, distribution and fulfillment centers, and offices, as well as many opportunities for Associates to grow and advance. Many Associates in our distribution centers in the United States and Canada are covered by collective bargaining agreements and other Associates are members of works councils in Europe. Our large, global workforce supports the execution of our flexible off-price business model, including the timing and frequency of store deliveries and the management of a rapidly changing mix of merchandise in nearly 4,700 retail stores in nine countries and across five distinctive branded e-commerce sites. We believe our Associates are key to our business success, and we have remained committed to prioritizing the health and safety of our Associates and customers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Workplace and Culture
We work to foster a strong, supportive, and inclusive culture so that Associates at TJX feel welcome in the Company, valued for their contributions, and engaged with our business mission. We use defined cultural factors and leadership competencies throughout our global business to express our organizational values, such as personal integrity, relationship-building and collaboration, and respect for our business model, and to promote consistency in leadership development. We have expanded our cultural factors and leadership competencies to include an explicit reference to inclusion and diversity. Our policies and practices, including our open-door philosophy, encourage open and honest communication and engagement with the business. The health and safety of our Associates continued to be a top priority during fiscal 2022, as we continued to manage health and safety protocols to address the evolving pandemic across our global operations and maintained many of our broad-based initiatives during fiscal 2022.
Inclusion and Diversity
We are committed to building a more inclusive and diverse workplace. Our priorities include a focus on three core areas: increasing the representation of diverse talent through our talent pipeline, providing leaders with the tools needed to successfully manage individual differences, and integrating inclusive behaviors, language, and practices throughout the business. Our teams globally are working to support these focus areas with many new programs, including recruitment strategies, mentoring programs, training and education, Associate-led Inclusion and Diversity advisory boards, and additional Associate Resource Groups.
Training and Career Development
We are highly focused on teaching and mentoring to support the career growth and success of our Associates, and we believe these efforts have promoted retention, stability and increased expertise in our workforce. Training happens broadly throughout the organization, from informal mentoring and direct training to a range of career and leadership development programs such as our TJX University for merchandising Associates.
Compensation and Rewards
Our compensation programs are designed to pay our Associates competitively in the market and based on their skills, experience level, qualifications, role, and abilities. Our approach to compensation across the organization reflects our global total rewards principles, which include encouraging teamwork and collaboration, being fair and equitable, and sharing in the success of the Company. For fiscal 2022, we continued our One TJX approach to annual incentive compensation, with all eligible Associates measured against global TJX performance goals. We also paid discretionary bonuses to the vast majority of our Associates, including those in our stores and distribution centers, that recognizes the significant contributions of our workforce.
Trademarks
We have the right to use our principal trademarks and service marks, which are T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, Winners, Homesense/HomeSense, T.K. Maxx, Sierra and Sierra Trading Post, in relevant countries. We expect our rights in these trademarks and service marks to endure in locations where we use them for as long as we continue to do so.
Seasonality
Our business is subject to seasonal influences. In the second half of the year, which includes the back-to-school and year-end holiday seasons, we generally realize higher levels of sales and income.
SEC Filings and Certifications
Copies of our annual reports on Form 10-K, proxy statements, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K filed with or furnished to the SEC, and any amendments to those documents, are available free of charge on our website, tjx.com, under “SEC Filings,” as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. They are also available free of charge from TJX Global Communications, 770 Cochituate Road, Framingham, Massachusetts 01701. The SEC maintains a website containing all reports, proxies, information statements, and all other information (www.sec.gov).
Information appearing on tjx.com is not a part of, and is not incorporated by reference in, this Form 10-K.
INFORMATION ABOUT OUR EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
The following are the executive officers of TJX as of March 30, 2022:
Name Age Office and Business Experience
Kenneth Canestrari 60 Senior Executive Vice President, Group President since September 2014. President, HomeGoods from 2012 to September 2014. Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, HomeGoods from 2008 until 2012. Various financial positions with TJX from 1988 to 2008.
Scott Goldenberg 68 Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since April 2014; Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from January 2012 to April 2014. Executive Vice President, Finance from June 2009 to January 2012. Senior Vice President, Corporate Controller from 2007 to 2009 and Senior Vice President, Director of Finance, Marmaxx, from 2000 to 2007. Various financial positions with TJX from 1983 to 1988 and 1997 to 2000.
Ernie Herrman 61 Chief Executive Officer since January 2016. Director since October 2015. President since January 2011. Senior Executive Vice President, Group President from August 2008 to January 2011. President, Marmaxx from 2005 to 2008. Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, Marmaxx from 2004 to 2005. Executive Vice President, Merchandising, Marmaxx from 2001 to 2004. Various merchandising positions with TJX since joining in 1989.
Carol Meyrowitz 68 Executive Chairman of the Board since January 2016. Chairman of the Board from June 2015 to January 2016. Chief Executive Officer from January 2007 to January 2016. Director since 2006 and President from 2005 to January 2011. Consultant to TJX from January 2005 to October 2005. Senior Executive Vice President from March 2004 to January 2005. President, Marmaxx from 2001 to January 2005. Executive Vice President of TJX from 2001 to 2004. Various senior management and merchandising positions with Marmaxx and with Chadwick’s of Boston and Hit or Miss, former divisions of TJX, from 1983 to 2001.
Douglas Mizzi 62 Senior Executive Vice President, Group President since February 2018. President, TJX Canada from October 2011 to February 2018. Managing Director T.K. Maxx, UK from April 2010 to October 2011. Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, WMI from February 2006 to April 2010. Senior Vice President, Director of Store Operations, WMI from 2004 to 2006. Various store operations positions with TJX from 1988 to 2004.
Richard Sherr 65 Senior Executive Vice President, Group President since January 2012. President, HomeGoods from 2010 to 2012. Chief Operating Officer, Marmaxx from 2007 until 2010. Various merchandising positions at TJX from 1992 to 2007.
The executive officers hold office until the next annual meeting of the Board in June 2022 and until their successors are elected and qualified.

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
ITEM 1A. Risk Factors
The statements in this section describe the major risks to our business and should be considered carefully, in connection with all the other information set forth in this annual report on Form 10-K. The risks that follow are those that we think, individually or in the aggregate, are potentially material to our business and could cause our actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied in forward-looking statements.
OPERATIONAL AND STRATEGIC RISKS
Our business, financial condition and results of operations have been and are expected to continue to be adversely affected by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had, and is continuing to have, a significant impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Many governments and private entities have issued various restrictions at different points in time since the emergence and spread of COVID-19 worldwide, including, for example, travel restrictions, restrictions on public gatherings, limitations on business operations, mask mandates, vaccination requirements, stay at home orders and advisories and quarantining protocols. For a period in fiscal 2021 during the first major peak of the COVID-19 outbreak, all of our stores, online businesses and distribution centers were temporarily closed, during which time we were unable to generate sales, though we continued to incur expenses. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic we also implemented new practices and protocols in our operations, including enhanced cleaning protocols, occupancy limitations and additional health and safety protocols that resulted in additional payroll and continued or increased expenses while potentially impacting sales opportunities. Many stores have had, and in the future may again have, additional temporary closures or be subject to additional restrictions, further adversely impacting customer traffic and sales opportunities. For example, as of March 25, 2022, certain countries in Europe remained subject to COVID-19-related shopping restrictions. In addition, market conditions and the impact of the pandemic on the global economy and global supply chain have impacted and may continue to impact the financial viability or business operations of some of our suppliers and transportation or logistics providers, which has interrupted and increased costs for, and may in the future interrupt and further increase costs for, our supply chain, and could require additional changes to our operations. We expect that our operations will continue to be impacted by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic as it continues to evolve. The extent of the impact will depend in part on future developments that are difficult to predict, including the continued severity and spread of the virus and the success of prevention, treatment and containment efforts globally. The COVID-19 pandemic has also required and may continue to require us to make decisions that may be considered controversial about precautionary measures, such as requiring vaccinations, proof of vaccinations and face coverings, that could impact our results, including by impacting our brand reputation, our Associate retention and satisfaction, and the willingness of customers to shop our stores.
Further, it remains difficult to predict with certainty the full impact of COVID-19 on the broader economy and how consumer behavior may change, and whether such changes are temporary or permanent (whether during the pandemic or possibly in a post-pandemic epidemic or endemic phase). Levels of our customers’ spending at our stores and consumer discretionary spending more generally may be impacted by the ongoing pandemic and its impact on the economy. Social distancing, telecommunicating and reductions in travel may become more typical and replace past patterns. In addition, the pandemic and related factors may have changed or change our Associates’ willingness or ability to staff our stores and distribution centers or otherwise continue employment as a result of health concerns, economic pressures or otherwise. All of these conditions could impact the way our Associates work, affect our company culture and reputation and could have continuing adverse effects on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Failure to execute our opportunistic buying strategy and successfully manage our inventory could adversely affect our results.
Key elements of our off-price business strategy, including opportunistic buying, operating with lean inventory levels and frequent inventory turns, subject us to risks. If we do not obtain the right merchandise at the right times, in the right quantities, at the right prices and in the right mix, our customer traffic and our sales, margins and other financial results could be adversely affected.
Our opportunistic buying strategy places considerable discretion with our merchants. They typically buy throughout the year, with much of our merchandise purchased for the current or immediately upcoming season. Our merchants are expected to effectively react to rapidly changing opportunities and trends in the market, to assess the desirability and value of merchandise and to generally make determinations of how and what we source as well as when and from where we source it. If they do not make assessments accurately or otherwise cannot execute our strategy in an effective or timely way, our customer traffic and our sales, margins and other financial results could be adversely affected. If our merchandise is not generally purchased at prices sufficiently below prices paid by conventional retailers, we may not be able to maintain an adequate overall pricing differential to full-price retailers, including department, specialty and major online retailers, at various times or in some reporting segments, banners, product categories or geographies.
In addition, to respond to customer demand and effectively manage pricing and markdowns, we need to appropriately allocate and deliver merchandise to our stores, maintain an appropriate mix and level of inventory in each store and be flexible in our allocation of floor space at our stores among product categories. We also base our inventory purchases, in part, on our sales forecasts. If our sales forecasts do not match customer demand, we may experience higher inventory levels and need to take markdowns on excess or slow-moving inventory, or we may have insufficient inventory to meet customer demand, either of which could adversely affect our financial performance.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has impacted, and may continue to impact, execution of our opportunistic buying strategy and inventory management. Our ability to allocate, deliver and maintain our preferred mix and level of inventory has been impacted by temporary store closures and global supply chain disruptions, including, for example, by increasing competition for limited shipping capacity and by other operational and market changes related to the global pandemic.
Failure to identify consumer trends and preferences, or to otherwise meet customer demand or expectations, in new or existing markets or channels could negatively impact our performance.
As our success depends on our ability to meet customer demand and expectations, we work to identify consumer trends and preferences on an ongoing basis and to offer inventory and shopping experiences that meet those trends and preferences. However, we may not do so effectively and/or on a timely basis across our diverse merchandise categories and in each of the many markets in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Australia in which we do business. Trends and preferences in markets may differ from what we anticipate and could change rapidly. Although our business model allows us greater flexibility than many traditional retailers to meet consumer product preferences and trends (for example, by expanding and contracting merchandise categories in response to consumers’ changing tastes), we may not successfully do so, which could impact inventory turns, customer traffic and sales and add difficulty in attracting new customers, retaining existing customers, and encouraging frequent customer visits, which could adversely affect our results.
Customers may also have expectations about how they shop in stores or through e-commerce or more generally engage with businesses across different channels (for example, through various digital platforms). These expectations may vary both across and within demographics and geographies and may evolve rapidly or be impacted by external factors, such as the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on consumers’ shopping habits as well as their expectations for our stores, including health and safety protocols. Meeting these expectations effectively generally involves identifying the right opportunities and making the right investments at the right time and with the right speed, among other things, and failure to do so may impact our financial results.
We operate in highly competitive markets, and we may not be able to compete effectively.
The retail apparel and home fashion businesses are highly competitive. We compete on the basis of various factors affecting value (which we define as the combination of brand, fashion, price and quality), merchandise selection and freshness; banner name recognition and appeal; both in-store and online service and shopping experience; convenience; and store location. We compete with local, regional, national and international retailers that sell apparel, home fashions and other merchandise that we sell, including retailers that operate through stores, e-commerce and/or other media or channels. Some of our competitors are larger than we are or have more experience in selling certain product lines or through certain channels than we do. New competitors frequently enter the market. Additionally, existing competitors may enter or increase their presence in markets in which we operate, consolidate with other retailers, expand their merchandise offerings, expand their e-commerce capabilities and/or add new sales channels or change their pricing strategies. Consumer e-commerce spending has been increasing over the past few years. E-commerce may continue to increase, while our business is primarily in brick and mortar stores. If we fail to compete effectively, our sales and results of operations could be adversely affected.
If we fail to successfully implement our marketing efforts and these marketing efforts are not successful in driving expected traffic to our stores or if our competitors’ marketing programs are more effective than ours, our revenue or results of operations may be adversely affected.
Customer traffic and demand for our merchandise may be influenced by our marketing efforts. Although we use marketing to drive customer traffic through various media including television, radio, print, outdoor, digital/social media, email, mobile and direct mail, some of our competitors may expend more for their marketing programs than we do, or use different approaches than we do, which may provide them with a competitive advantage. Further, we may not effectively develop or implement strategies with respect to rapidly evolving digital communication channels. If our marketing efforts are not as successful or cost effective as anticipated, our revenue and results of operations could be adversely affected.
Failure to continue to expand our business successfully could adversely affect our financial results
Our growth strategy includes successfully expanding within our current markets and/or into new geographic regions, product lines and channels, including e-commerce, and, as appropriate, adding new businesses, whether by development, investment or acquisition. If any aspect of our expansion strategy does not achieve the success we expect, in whole or in part, we may fail to meet our financial performance expectations generally or within certain markets or divisions, and/or may be required to increase or decrease investments, slow our planned growth or close stores or operations. Even if a particular market has high commercial vacancies, if we are not able to find and lease appropriate real estate on attractive terms in the locations where we seek to open brick and mortar stores, or, for example, if new stores do not perform as well as we anticipated, we may need to change our planned growth in those markets.
Growth can add complexity to effective information sharing and requires significant attention from our management and other functions across our business. It also requires appropriately staffing and training an increased number of Associates and/or managing appropriate third-party providers. These risks may increase with further growth, particularly if we expand into additional countries. If we are unable to manage our growth effectively, our business may be adversely affected or we may need to reduce the rate of expansion or otherwise curtail growth, which may adversely affect our business plans, sales and results.
Failure to effectively manage the large size and scale of our operations may adversely affect our financial results.
Our substantial size can make it challenging to run our complex operations effectively and to manage suitable internal resources and third-party providers with appropriate oversight to support our business effectively, including for administration, systems (including information technology systems), merchandising, sourcing, store operations, distribution, logistics and compliance. The large size and scale of our operations, our multiple banners and locations across the U.S., Canada, Europe and Australia, and the autonomy afforded to the banners in some aspects of the business also increase the risk that our systems, controls, practices and policies may not be implemented effectively or consistently throughout our company, that information may not be appropriately shared across our operations, and that our marketing and communications strategies may lack cohesion. The size and scale of our business also creates challenges in effectively managing, training, retaining and engaging a large, disparate workforce. These challenges may be exacerbated if a portion of our workforce is working remotely for all or part of their time, as started to be the case during fiscal 2021, or is unable to work on site or is temporarily furloughed, as was the case in recent years. If we are unable to manage our size and scale effectively, our results of operations may be adversely affected.
We source our merchandise globally, which subjects us to risks, including when moving merchandise internationally.
We are subject to various risks of sourcing merchandise, particularly from other countries, including risks related to moving merchandise internationally. Many of the products sold in our stores are sourced by our vendors and, to a lesser extent, by us, in locations, particularly China, India and southeastern Asia, different from the country in which they will be sold. Where we are the importer of record, we may be subject to regulatory or other requirements, including those similar to requirements imposed upon the manufacturer of such products. Risks related to sourcing merchandise include:
-problems in third-party distribution and warehousing, logistics, transportation and other supply chain interruptions;
-potential disruptions in manufacturing and supply;
-transport availability, capacity and costs;
-information technology challenges;
-changes in duties, tariffs, trade restrictions, sanctions, quotas and voluntary export restrictions on imported merchandise, including, for example, additional trade requirements resulting from “Brexit,” the U.K.’s withdrawal from the European Union; tariffs and border adjustment taxes; changes to the United States Mexico Canada Agreement (the successor to the North American Free Trade Agreement) or successor or other trade agreements;
-pandemics and epidemics (including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic) affecting sourcing, including manufacturing, buying or delivery;
-strikes, threats of strikes and other events affecting delivery;
-consumer perceptions of the safety or quality of imported merchandise;
-compliance with product laws and regulations of the destination country;
-compliance with laws and regulations including changing labor, environmental, international trade and other laws in relevant countries and those concerning ethical business practices, such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the U.K. Bribery Act;
-product liability claims from customers or investigations, enforcement or penalties from government agencies relating to products that are recalled, defective or otherwise noncompliant or alleged to be harmful;
-intellectual property enforcement and infringement issues;
-concerns about human rights, working conditions and other labor rights and conditions in countries where merchandise is produced or materials are sourced, such as concerns related to treatment of the Uyghur population in the Xinjiang province of China;
-concerns about transparent sourcing and supply chains;
-currency exchange rates and financial or economic instability; and
-political, military, or other disruptions in countries from, to or through which merchandise is imported, including in Ukraine and Russia.
These and other factors relating to sourcing, international trade and imported merchandise could affect the availability and the price of our inventory and our operating costs. Furthermore, although we have implemented policies and procedures designed to facilitate compliance with laws and regulations relating to production of merchandise, international operations and importing merchandise, there can be no assurance that our Associates and our contractors, agents, vendors or other third parties with whom we do business or to whom we outsource business operations will not violate such laws and regulations or our policies, which could subject us to liability and could adversely affect our reputation, operations or operating results.
Our results and profitability could be adversely affected by labor costs, including wage, pension, health and other costs, or other challenges from our large workforce.
Our Associates are key to supporting our business and operations effectively, and increased labor costs put pressure on our operating expenses, which could adversely affect our financial results. We have a large workforce, and our ability to meet our labor needs and control labor costs is subject to various external factors such as minimum wage laws and benefits requirements; market pressures, including prevailing wage rates and benefit levels, unemployment levels and competition for labor from other industries; changing demographics and workforce trends; economic conditions, including inflation; interest rate changes; actuarial assumptions and methods; the costs of providing and managing retirement, health and other employee benefits, including health and insurance costs; and a dynamic regulatory and policy environment, including with respect to COVID-19 related mandates and protocols, health care, immigration, labor, employment, pension and other employee benefits, and taxes. Any of these factors could increase our labor costs (and the labor costs of our service providers, which could be passed on to us). Increased labor costs may adversely affect our results of operations. In addition, when wage rates or benefit levels have increased in particular markets, increasing our wages or benefits has and may continue to increase expenses and impact our earnings. Conversely, failing to offer competitive wages or benefits could adversely affect our ability to attract or retain sufficient or quality Associates, causing our customer service or performance to suffer.
Additionally, many Associates in our distribution centers are members of unions. We are subject to the risk of labor actions of various kinds, including work stoppages, as well as risks and potential material expenses associated with multiemployer plans, including from pension plan underfunding, benefit cuts, increased contribution or funding requirements, changes in plan terms, withdrawal liability, increased premium costs, conditions imposed under any governmental assistance programs or insolvency of other participating employers or governmental insurance programs. Certain of our Associates in Europe are members of works councils, which may subject us to additional requirements, actions or expense.
Failure to employ quality Associates in appropriate numbers and to retain key Associates and management could adversely affect our performance.
We need to employ capable, engaged Associates for our stores and distribution centers in large numbers, and for other areas of our business, including information technology functions. We must constantly recruit new Associates to fill entry level and part-time positions with high rates of turnover and at times find seasonal talent in sufficient numbers. The availability and skill of Associates may differ across markets in which we do business and in new markets we enter, and we may be unable to meet or manage our labor needs effectively. In addition, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and economic conditions, we have faced and may continue to face additional challenges in recruiting sufficient talent due to shifts in the labor market, wage pressures and competition, and health and safety concerns, among other factors, as well as the challenges in engaging, overseeing and training those Associates who would typically work from our offices, most of whom have worked primarily remotely since March 2020 and continue to work primarily remotely.
Our performance also depends on recruiting, hiring, developing, training and retaining talented Associates in key areas such as buying and management. Similar to other retailers, we face challenges in securing and retaining sufficient talent in management and other key areas for many reasons, including competition for talent in the retail industry, from other industries, and in various geographic markets. In addition, because of the distinctive nature of our off-price model, we must provide significant internal training and development for key Associates across the Company, including within our buying organization, and continue to adapt to doing so remotely for the most part, and must effectively manage succession planning. If we do not effectively attract qualified individuals, train them in our business model, support their development, engage them in our business, and retain them in sufficient numbers and at appropriate levels of the organization, our growth could be limited, and the successful execution of our business model could be adversely affected.
Compromises of our data security, disruptions in our information technology systems, or failure to satisfy the information technology needs of our business could result in material loss or liability, materially impact our operating results or materially harm our reputation.
Our business depends on our information technology (“IT”) systems, which collect and process information of customers, Associates and other persons, as well as information of our business and of our suppliers, service providers and other third parties. We rely heavily on IT systems, including those operated and maintained by our suppliers, service providers and other third parties, to manage all key aspects of our business, including: planning; purchasing; sales, including point-of-sale processing and e-commerce; supply chain management; inventory management; human resources; financial management; communications; information security; and legal and regulatory compliance. This reliance requires us to accurately anticipate our current and future IT needs and successfully develop, implement and maintain appropriate systems, as well as effective disaster recovery plans for such systems. Our ongoing operations and successful growth are dependent on doing so, as well as on the ongoing integrity, security and consistent operations of these systems, including related back-up systems.
As is common in the retail industry, our IT systems, as well as those of our suppliers, service providers and other third parties whose information technology systems we utilize directly or indirectly, are targeted by attempts to access or obtain personal or sensitive information, attempts at monetary theft, and attempts to disrupt business. These attempts could include use of malware, ransomware, phishing, social engineering, denial-of-service attacks, exploitation of system vulnerabilities or misconfigurations, employee malfeasance, digital and physical payment card skimmers, account takeovers and other forms of cyber-attacks. These attempts continue to increase in sophistication, heightening the risk of compromise or disruption. While certain of these attempts have resulted in data security incidents, the unauthorized intrusion into our network discovered late in 2006 is the only such data security incident to date that has been material to the results of our operations. Our IT systems and those of our suppliers, service providers and other third parties also may be damaged or disrupted, or personal or sensitive information compromised, from a number of other causes, including power outages, system failures, catastrophic events or Associate or contractor error. Such damage, disruption or compromise could materially impair our ability to operate our business or otherwise result in material impacts on our operating results.
Changes in the business landscape and the increase of remote working for our Associates, service providers and other third parties have the potential to increase the likelihood of system damage or disruption and increase the risk of a data security compromise. These factors have led to additional mitigation strategies and investments across our IT Security workforce, technologies and processes. In addition, the global regulatory environment surrounding information security and privacy is increasingly demanding, and data security compromises and disruptions in our IT systems could result in regulatory enforcement actions, class actions, contract liability or other forms of material legal liability. Any successful compromise or disruption of our IT systems, or other compromise of the information of our customers, Associates or other persons that we collect, could result in material reputational harm and impact our customers’ willingness to shop in our stores or online and/or our suppliers’, service providers’ or other third parties’ willingness to do business with us.
We maintain policies, procedures and controls designed to reduce the risks of data security compromises and IT failures or disruptions, but such controls cannot fully eliminate such risks and may fail to operate as intended or be circumvented. These policies, procedures and controls also require costly and ongoing investment in technologies, hiring, training and compliance.
There is also a risk of material business disruption, liability and reputational damage associated with ongoing actions intended to update, enhance, modify or replace our systems and infrastructure, including from not accurately capturing and maintaining data, efficiently testing and implementing changes, realizing the expected benefit of the change and managing the potential disruption of the actions and diversion of internal teams’ attention as the changes are implemented.
Damage to our corporate reputation or those of our retail banners could adversely affect our sales and operating results.
Our relationships with our customers and our reputation are based, in part, on perceptions of subjective qualities. Incidents involving us, our retail banners, our executives and other Associates, our board of directors, our policies and practices, our third-party providers, our vendors and others within our supply chain, the merchandise and brands, including our licensed or owned brands, that we sell, our investments, in regions where we have operations or investments, our partners and our industry more generally that erode trust or confidence could adversely affect our reputation and thereby impact our business, particularly if the incidents result in rapid or significant adverse publicity, protest, litigation or governmental inquiry. Information on such incidents that is publicized through traditional or digital media platforms, including social media, websites, blogs and other forums that facilitate rapid, broad communications to an audience of consumers and other interested persons, may adversely affect our reputation and brand, even if the information is inaccurate, incomplete or unverified. Similarly, challenges or reactions to action (or inaction), or perceived action (or inaction), by our company to crises, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine or a public health crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic, or on issues like corporate responsibility, responsible sourcing, environmental sustainability, climate change, inclusion and diversity, racial justice and equity, human rights, politics and lobbying, privacy, merchandising, product safety, compensation and benefits, workplace environment, labor compliance, workforce reductions or other employment actions, or other sensitive topics, and any perceived lack of transparency about such matters, could harm our reputation, particularly as expectations of corporate action and of companies’ responsibilities in areas related to environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) issues have changed and may continue to change.
This kind of reputational damage could occur locally or globally and could impact our company or our individual retail banners. Damage to the reputation of our company and our banners could result in declines in customer loyalty and sales; affect our vendor relationships and/or business development opportunities; limit our ability to attract and retain quality Associates; divert the attention and resources of management, including to respond to inquiries or additional regulatory scrutiny; and otherwise adversely affect our financial results.
We depend upon strong cash flows from our operations to supply capital to fund our operations, growth, stock repurchases and dividends and interest and debt repayment.
Our business depends upon our operations continuing to generate strong cash flow to supply capital to support our general operating activities, to fund our growth and our return of cash to stockholders through our stock repurchase programs and dividends, and to pay our interest and debt repayments. If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flows or to repatriate cash from our international operations in a manner that is cost effective, our growth plans, capital expenditures, operating expenses and financial performance, including our earnings per share, could be adversely affected. Changes in the capital and credit markets, including market disruptions, limited liquidity and interest rate fluctuations, may increase the cost of financing or restrict our access to these potential sources of liquidity. Our continued access to these liquidity sources on favorable terms depends on multiple factors, including our operating performance and maintaining strong credit ratings. We borrow on occasion to finance our activities and if financing were not available to us in adequate amounts and on appropriate terms when needed, it could also adversely affect our financial performance.
Further expansion of our international operations could expose us to risks inherent in operating in new countries.
We have a significant retail presence in countries in Europe and in Canada and Australia. We also operate buying offices around the world. Our goal is to continue to expand our operations into other countries in the future. It can be costly and complex to identify appropriate store locations and establish, develop and maintain international operations and to promote business in new international jurisdictions, which may differ significantly from other countries in which we currently operate.
Just as with our current operations, there are risks inherent in opening and developing operations in new countries, such those related to compliance under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the U.K. Bribery Act. Additional risks include, among others, understanding the local retail climate and trends, local customs and cultures, seasonal differences, business practices and competitive conditions; complying with relevant laws, rules and regulations; developing the appropriate infrastructure; identifying suitable partners for local operations and for integration with our global operations and effectively communicating and implementing company policies and practices in new, possibly remote, jurisdictions. There are also financial, regulatory and other risks associated with international operations, including currency exchange fluctuations; potentially adverse tax consequences; limitations on the repatriation and investment of funds outside of the country where earned; trade regulations; the risk of sudden policy or regulatory changes; the risk of political, economic and civil instability and labor unrest; and uncertainties regarding interpretation, application and enforceability of laws and agreements. Any of these risks could adversely impact our operations, profitability or liquidity.
Our quarterly operating results fluctuate and may fall short of prior periods, our projections or the expectations of securities analysts or investors, which could adversely affect our stock price.
Our operating results have fluctuated from quarter to quarter at points in the past, including varying significantly from past quarters in recent years, and may do so again in the future. If we fail to increase our results over prior periods, to achieve our projected results or to meet the expectations of securities analysts or investors, our stock price may decline (as it did at times during fiscal 2021), and the decrease in the stock price may be disproportionate to the shortfall in our financial performance. Results may be affected by various factors, including those described in these risk factors. We maintain a forecasting process that seeks to plan sales and align expenses. If we do not control costs or appropriately adjust costs to actual results, or if actual results differ significantly from our forecast, our financial performance could be adversely affected. In addition, if we suspend our buyback program, as we did during fiscal 2021, or if we have an active buyback program and are repurchasing shares but do not repurchase the number of shares we contemplated pursuant to our stock repurchase programs, or if we reduce or suspend our dividend distributions, as we did for part of fiscal 2021, our earnings per share may be adversely affected.
If we engage in mergers or acquisitions or investments in new businesses, or divest, close or consolidate any of our current businesses, our business could be subject to additional risks.
We may acquire new businesses (as we have in the past with our Australia business and with Sierra), invest in other businesses (as we did with our minority investment interest in privately held Familia, a Russian off-price apparel and home fashions retailer, in fiscal 2020) or enter into joint ventures with other businesses, develop new businesses internally (as with Homesense, our additional U.S. home store concept launched in fiscal 2018), launch or expand e-commerce platforms (as we did in fiscal 2022 with homegoods.com, a HomeGoods e-commerce business), and divest (as we plan to do with our Familia interest), close or consolidate businesses. Furthermore, we may not be able to strategically divest certain assets or investments due to developments outside of our control. Failure to execute on mergers, acquisitions, investments, divestitures, closings and consolidations in a satisfactory manner could adversely affect our future results of operations and financial condition. Acquisition, investment or divestiture activities may divert attention of management from operating the existing businesses, and we may not effectively evaluate target companies, investments or investment partners or assess the risks, benefits and costs of buying, investing in or closing businesses or of the integration or attendant risks of acquired businesses or investments, all of which can be difficult, time-consuming and dilutive. These activities may not meet our performance and other expectations and may expose us to unexpected or greater-than-expected costs, liabilities and risks, including, for example, from changes in law, market conditions, the retail industry or political conditions. In addition, we recorded intangible assets and goodwill and the value of the tradenames in connection with our last acquisitions and may similarly do so in the future in connection with other acquisitions. If we are unable to realize the anticipated benefits from acquisitions or investments, we may be required to impair some or all of the goodwill associated with an acquisition or investment, which would adversely impact our results of operations and balance sheet, such as with an impairment charge. For example, in connection with the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, we announced our intention to divest our ownership interest in Familia. Depending on how and when that divestment occurs, we may not recover the full value of our investment. Divestitures, closings and consolidations could involve risks such as significant costs and obligations of closure, including exposure on leases, owned real estate and other contractual, employment, pension and severance obligations, and potential liabilities that may arise under law as a result of the disposition or as a result of the credit risk of an acquirer. We anticipate that we may recognize an investment loss or be required to record an impairment charge in connection with our planned divestiture of Familia.
Our large number of real estate leases, which generally obligate us for long periods, subject us to potential financial risk.
We lease virtually all of our store locations and either own or lease for long periods our primary distribution centers and administrative offices. Accordingly, we are subject to the risks associated with leasing and owning real estate, which can adversely affect our financial results. While we have the right to terminate some of our leases under specified conditions, including by making specified payments, we may not be able to terminate most of our leases if or when we would like to do so. If we decide or are required to permanently close stores, we are typically required to continue to perform obligations under the applicable leases, which generally include, among other things, paying rent and operating expenses for the balance of the lease term or paying to exercise rights to terminate, and the performance of any of these obligations may be significant. When we assign leases to third parties, or if we sell or close a business, we can remain liable on the lease obligations for the balance of the term and we are contingently liable if the assignee does not perform (as was the case with some of our former operations). We also remain primarily liable if we sublease space to a third party. In addition, when the lease terms for the stores in our ongoing operations expire, we may be unable to negotiate renewals, either on commercially reasonable terms or at all, which could cause us to permanently close stores or to relocate stores within a market on less favorable terms or in a less favorable location.
Failure to protect our inventory or other assets from loss and theft may impact our financial results.
Risk of loss or theft of assets, including inventory shrinkage, is inherent in the retail business. Loss may be caused by error or misconduct of Associates, customers, vendors or other third parties including through organized retail crime and professional theft. Our inability to effectively prevent and/or minimize the loss or theft of assets, or to effectively reduce the impact of those losses, could adversely affect our financial performance.
EXTERNAL AND ECONOMIC RISKS
Economic conditions on a global level or in particular markets, geopolitical uncertainty, and other factors creating uncertainty and instability may adversely affect consumer confidence and discretionary spending, which could affect our financial performance.
Consumer confidence and discretionary spending can be affected by various economic conditions, both on a global level and in particular markets, that can, in turn, affect our business or the retail industry generally. These factors include, among others, inflation and deflation; actual or perceived declines in consumer purchasing power; economic recession; unemployment levels; availability of disposable income and actual and perceived wealth; health care costs; costs of oil, gas and other commodities; interest rates and tax rates and related policies; weakness in the housing market and housing costs; volatility in capital markets; and credit availability.
Similarly, in addition to the impact of regulatory or policy changes, regulatory volatility or uncertainty, including in areas such as international trade, including U.S. tariff policies; challenges presented by implementation following Brexit, as well as threats or occurrences of war (including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine), terrorism, pandemics or epidemics (such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic), supply chain disruptions, geopolitical instability or uncertainty and political or social unrest and/or conflict (locally or across regions) may have significant effects on consumer confidence and spending that can in turn, affect our financial results and impact the retail industry generally. These conditions and factors also shift trends in consumer spending that could affect our business. Although we believe our flexible off-price model helps us react to such changes, they may adversely affect our sales, cash flows, merchandise orders and results of operations and performance.
Changes in economic conditions, on a global level or in particular markets, may adversely affect our sources of liquidity and costs of capital and increase our financial exposure, and our strategies for managing these financial risks may not be effective or sufficient.
Global financial markets can experience volatility, disruption and credit contraction, which could adversely affect global economic conditions. Changes in economic conditions could adversely affect sources of liquidity available to us or our costs of capital, including through capital markets. In particular, prolonged volatility or significant disruption of global financial markets due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could have a negative impact on our ability to access capital markets and other funding sources, on acceptable terms or at all, and impede our ability to comply with debt covenants. In addition, changes in economic conditions could adversely affect plan asset values and investment performance, and increase our pension liabilities, expenses and funding requirements and other related financial exposure with respect to company-sponsored and multiemployer pension plans. Our strategies for managing these financial risks and exposures may not be effective or sufficient or may expose us to risk.
Our results may be adversely affected by serious disruptions, catastrophic events or public health crises.
Natural or other disasters, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, earthquakes and other extreme weather; climate conditions; public health issues, such as pandemics and epidemics (such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic); fires or explosions; acts of war (such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine); domestic or foreign terrorism or other acts of violence, including riots or active shooter situations; or cyberterrorism, nation-state cyber-attacks, or other cyber events could disrupt our operations in a number of ways, including by causing injury or serious harm to our Associates, including when traveling on business, or customers; severely damaging or destroying one or more of our stores, distribution facilities, data centers or office facilities, or could disrupt the operations of, or require the closure of, one or more of our vendors or other parts of our supply chain located in the affected areas. Day-to-day operations, including our ability to receive products from our vendors or third-party service providers or transport products to our stores or to our e-commerce customers could be adversely affected, transportation to and from our stores (by customers or Associates) could be limited, or we could temporarily close stores or distribution centers in the affected areas or in areas served by affected distribution centers for a short or extended period of time (as with closures of our stores and other facilities at various times due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
As our business is subject to seasonal influences, a decrease in sales or margins, a severe disruption or other significant event that impacts our business during the second half of the year could have a disproportionately adverse effect on our operating results.
Our business is subject to seasonal influences; we generally realize higher levels of sales and earnings in the second half of the year, which includes the back-to-school and year-end holiday seasons. Any decrease in sales or margins or any significant adverse event during this period, including those described in these risk factors, could have a disproportionately adverse effect on our results of operations.
Our results may be adversely affected by increased utility, transportation or logistics costs; reduced availability or increased cost of oil or other fuels; or increased costs of other commodities.
Energy and fuel costs can fluctuate dramatically and, at times, have resulted in significant cost increases, particularly for the price of oil and gasoline. An increase in the price of oil increases our transportation costs for distribution, utility costs for our retail stores and costs to purchase our products from suppliers. Although we typically enter into derivative instruments designed to manage a portion of our transportation costs (a hedging strategy), any such strategy may not be effective or sufficient and could result in increased operating costs. Increased regulation related to environmental costs, including cap and trade, carbon taxes or other emissions management systems could also adversely affect our costs of doing business, including utility, transportation and logistics costs. Shortages or disruptions, including from increased demand and other factors, impacting transportation within our supply chain also negatively impacts our cost of business. For example, in recent years, increased freight costs related to labor, equipment and capacity shortages involving freight hauling, as well as other factors, had an adverse impact on our margins. In fiscal 2023, we anticipate that the conflict in Ukraine and related sanctions on Russia may impact fuel resources and operations of third parties along our supply chain such that our inventory flow and financial performance may be negatively impacted. Similarly, other commodity prices can fluctuate dramatically. Such increases can impact the cost of merchandise, which could adversely affect our performance through potentially reduced consumer demand or reduced margins.
Adverse or unseasonable weather may adversely affect our sales and operating results.
Adverse or unseasonable weather, such as storms, severe cold or heat or unseasonable temperatures (even if not extreme) may affect customers’ buying patterns and willingness to shop at all or in certain categories we offer, particularly in apparel and seasonal merchandise, which could impact our sales, customer satisfaction with our stores and our markdowns. As a result, our business could be adversely affected.
Fluctuations in currency exchange rates may lead to lower revenues and earnings.
Sales made by our stores outside the U.S. are denominated in the currency of the country in which the store is located, and changes in currency exchange rates affect the translation of the sales and earnings of these businesses into U.S. dollars for financial reporting purposes. Because of this, movements in currency exchange rates have had and are expected to continue to have a significant impact on our consolidated and segment results from time to time. Changes in currency exchange rates can also increase the cost of inventory purchases that are denominated in a currency other than the local currency of the business buying the merchandise. When exchange rates change significantly in a short period or move unfavorably over an extended period, it can be difficult for us to adjust accordingly, and gross margin can be adversely affected. For example, a significant amount of merchandise we offer for sale is made in China and accordingly, a revaluation of Chinese currency, or increased market flexibility in the exchange rate for that currency, increasing its value relative to the U.S. dollar or currencies in which our stores are located, could be significant.
Additionally, we routinely enter into inventory-related derivative instruments (a hedging strategy) to mitigate the impact of currency exchange rates on merchandise margins resulting from merchandise purchases by our segments denominated in currencies other than their local currencies. These mitigation strategies may not be effective or sufficient. In addition, in accordance with GAAP, we evaluate the fair value of these derivative instruments and make mark-to-market adjustments at the end of each accounting period. These adjustments are of a much greater magnitude when there is significant volatility in currency exchange rates and may have a significant impact on our earnings.
We expect that currency exchange rate fluctuations could have a material adverse effect on our sales and results of operations from time to time. In addition, fluctuations in currency exchange rates may have a greater impact on our earnings and operating results if a counterparty to one of our hedging arrangements fails to perform.
REGULATORY, LEGAL AND COMPLIANCE RISKS
Failure to comply with laws, rules, regulations and orders and applicable accounting principles and interpretations could negatively affect our business operations and financial performance.
We are subject to national, state, provincial, regional and local laws, rules, regulations, mandates, accounting standards, principles and interpretations, as well as government orders in various countries in which we operate that collectively affect multiple aspects of our business. We are also subject to new and changing laws, rules and regulations, mandates, evolving interpretations of existing laws by judicial and regulatory authorities, changes in accounting standards or interpretations, and reforms in jurisdictions where we do business. These requirements, current or changing, could adversely affect our operating results, including those involving:
-labor and employment practices and benefits, including for labor unions and works councils;
-health, welfare and safety requirements, including vaccination and/or testing requirements, such as those implemented and proposed in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic;
-import/export, supply chain, social compliance, trade restrictions and logistics, including resulting from changes to requirements or policies from the outcome of Brexit or the Uyghur Forced Labor Act;
-climate change, energy and waste;
-consumer protection, product safety and product compliance;
-marketing;
-financial regulations and reporting;
-tax;
-data protection and privacy, such as to comply with, or fines and penalties related to, General Data Protection Regulation in the European Union and the California Consumer Privacy Act;
-Internet regulations, including e-commerce, electronic communications and privacy;
-protection of intellectual property rights; and
-compliance with governmental assistance programs.
Complying with applicable laws, rules, regulations, standards, interpretations, orders and our own internal policies may require us to spend additional time and resources to implement new procedures and other controls, conduct audits, train Associates and third parties on our compliance methods or take other actions, particularly as we continue to grow globally and enter new markets, countries or product categories, any of which could adversely impact our results. Particularly in a dynamic regulatory environment, anticipated changes to laws and regulations may require us to invest in compliance efforts or otherwise expend resources before changes are certain.
In addition, if we, or third parties that perform services on our behalf, fail to comply with applicable laws, rules, regulations, standards, interpretations and orders, we may be subject to judgments, fines or other costs or penalties, which could adversely affect our operations and our financial results and condition.
Our results may be materially adversely affected by the outcomes of litigation, legal proceedings and other legal or regulatory matters.
We are involved, or may in the future become involved, in legal proceedings, regulatory reviews, audits and other legal matters. These may involve inquiries, investigations, lawsuits and other proceedings by local, provincial, state and national governmental entities (in the U.S. and other countries) and private plaintiffs, including with respect to employment and employee benefits (such as classification, employment rights, discrimination, wage and hour and retaliation); whistleblower claims; harassment claims; tax; securities; disclosure; real estate; environmental matters; hazardous materials and hazardous waste; tort; business practices; consumer protection; privacy/data security; product safety and compliance; advertising; and intellectual property. There continue to be employment-related and consumer protection lawsuits, including putative class actions, in the United States, and we are subject to these types of suits. We cannot predict the results of legal and regulatory proceedings with certainty, and actual results may differ from any reserves we establish estimating the probable outcome. Regardless of merit or outcome, these proceedings can be both time-consuming and disruptive to our operations and may cause significant expense and diversion of management attention. Legal, regulatory and other proceedings could expose us to significant defense costs, fines, penalties and liability to private parties and governmental entities for monetary recoveries and other amounts and attorneys’ fees and/or require us to change aspects of our operations, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
Quality, safety or other issues with merchandise we buy and sell could impact our reputation, sales and financial results.
Various governmental authorities in the jurisdictions where we do business regulate the quality and safety of the merchandise we import, transport and sell to consumers. Regulations and standards in this area, including federal regulations related to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 and the U.S. Food Safety Modernization Act, state regulations like California’s Proposition 65, and similar legislation in other countries in which we operate, impose restrictions and requirements on the merchandise we buy and sell. These regulations change from time to time, and new national, state, provincial or local regulations in the U.S. and other countries that may affect our business are contemplated and enacted with some regularity. We rely on our vendors to provide quality merchandise that complies with applicable laws, as well as our vendor code of conduct that requires our merchandise vendors to ensure the products they sell to us comply with all applicable laws and regulations. However, our vendors may not comply with such obligations. If we or our merchandise vendors are unable or fail to comply with regulatory requirements on a timely basis or at all, or to adequately monitor new regulations that may apply to existing or new merchandise categories or in new geographies, we could incur significant fines or penalties or we could have to curtail some aspects of our sales or operations, which could have an adverse effect on our financial results. Although our arrangements with our vendors frequently provide for indemnification for product liabilities, the vendors may fail to honor these obligations to an extent we consider sufficient or at all. In certain circumstances, we may bear some responsibility for compliance with applicable product safety laws, labeling requirements and other applicable laws. In addition, failure to comply with, or the perception that we have failed to comply with, other social compliance, product, labor and/or environmental standards or monitoring practices, which continue to evolve, related to the products we sell could subject us reputational harm and impact our financial results.
Concerns or issues with the quality, safety and sourcing of merchandise, particularly with products subject to increased levels of regulation or inquiry, or the authenticity of merchandise, regardless of whether unverified or not our fault, could result in regulatory, civil or criminal fines or penalties, litigation or reputational harm, any of which could have an adverse effect on our financial results.
Tax matters could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.
We are subject to income and other taxes in the U.S. and numerous foreign jurisdictions. Our effective income tax rate and future tax liability could be adversely affected by numerous factors including the results of tax audits and examinations, income before taxes being lower than anticipated in countries with lower statutory income tax rates and higher than anticipated in countries with higher statutory income tax rates, changes in income tax rates, changes in transfer pricing, changes in the valuation of deferred tax assets and liabilities, changes in applicable tax legislation (including proposed legislation in the Build Back Better Act), regulations, treaties and other guidance, and changes in accounting principles and interpretations relating to tax matters, any of which could adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition in future periods. The U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the “2017 Tax Act”) significantly revised the previous federal income tax code. Additional interpretive guidance has been and will continue to be issued with respect to the 2017 Tax Act, and such guidance may be different from our interpretation and thus adversely affect our results. In addition, it is uncertain if and to what extent various states will conform to the 2017 Tax Act, which could also impact our tax obligations. Significant judgment is required in evaluating and estimating our worldwide provision and accruals for taxes, and actual results may differ from our estimations.
In addition, we are subject to the continuous examination of our tax returns and reports by national, state, provincial and local tax authorities in the U.S. and foreign countries, and the examining authorities may challenge positions we take. We are engaged in various proceedings, which are at various stages, with such authorities with respect to assessments, claims, deficiencies and refunds. We regularly assess the likely outcomes of these proceedings to determine the adequacy and appropriateness of our provision for income taxes, and we increase and decrease our provision as a result of these assessments. However, developments in and actual results of proceedings, rulings or settlements by or with tax authorities or courts (including due to changes in facts, law or legal interpretations, expiration of applicable statutes of limitations or other resolutions of tax positions) could result in amounts that differ from those we have accrued for such proceedings in either a positive or a negative manner, which could materially affect our effective income tax rate in a given financial period, the amount of taxes we are required to pay and our results of operations. In addition, we are subject to tax audits and examinations for payroll, value added, sales-based and other taxes relating to our businesses, which could adversely impact our financial results.

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ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
ITEM 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
None.

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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
ITEM 2. Properties
We lease virtually all of our store locations, as well as some of our distribution centers and office space. Most of TJX's leases in the U.S. and Canada are store operating leases, generally for an initial term of ten years with options to extend the lease term for one or more five-year periods. Store operating leases in Europe generally have an initial term of ten to fifteen years and leases in Australia generally have an initial lease term of seven to ten years, some of which have options to extend. Some of the Company's leases have options to terminate prior to the lease expiration date.
STORE LOCATIONS
Stores are operated in the following locations at the end of fiscal 2022 and counts include both banners within a combo or a superstore:
United States Marmaxx(a)
Sierra HomeGoods(a)
Total
Alabama 33 - 9 42
Arizona 37 - 14 51
Arkansas 18 - 5 23
California 269 - 96 365
Colorado 30 8 12 50
Connecticut 51 1 20 72
Delaware 8 - 6 14
District of Columbia 7 - - 7
Florida 196 - 75 271
Georgia 87 - 31 118
Hawaii 8 - - 8
Idaho 9 1 2 12
Illinois 99 4 33 136
Indiana 41 - 10 51
Iowa 17 - 6 23
Kansas 17 - 7 24
Kentucky 23 - 7 30
Louisiana 29 - 10 39
Maine 12 1 3 16
Maryland 56 1 24 81
Massachusetts 109 2 41 152
Michigan 71 4 22 97
Minnesota 35 7 15 57
Mississippi 16 - 5 21
Missouri 37 - 12 49
Montana 6 - 1 7
Nebraska 10 1 5 16
Nevada 20 1 7 28
New Hampshire 26 5 14 45
New Jersey 92 4 53 149
New Mexico 10 - 3 13
New York 169 2 63 234
North Carolina 66 - 23 89
North Dakota 6 - 2 8
Ohio 86 1 25 112
Oklahoma 19 - 5 24
Oregon 24 3 8 35
Pennsylvania 96 1 37 134
Puerto Rico 29 - 6 35
Rhode Island 12 - 6 18
South Carolina 36 - 12 48
South Dakota 3 - 1 4
Tennessee 48 - 16 64
Texas 170 - 61 231
Utah 19 2 8 29
Vermont 7 1 1 9
Virginia 68 2 30 100
Washington 41 2 17 60
West Virginia 11 - 4 15
Wisconsin 38 3 16 57
Wyoming 5 2 - 7
Total Stores 2,432 59 889 3,380
(a)Marmaxx operates T.J. Maxx and Marshalls. HomeGoods operates HomeGoods and Homesense.
Canada Winners HomeSense Marshalls Total
Alberta 42 21 17 80
British Columbia 40 22 9 71
Manitoba 9 5 5 19
New Brunswick 4 3 4 11
Newfoundland 3 2 2 7
Nova Scotia 11 3 2 16
Ontario 125 66 49 240
Prince Edward Island 1 1 - 2
Quebec 52 21 15 88
Saskatchewan 6 3 3 12
Total Stores 293 147 106 546
Europe T.K. Maxx Homesense Total
United Kingdom 352 75 427
Republic of Ireland 27 2 29
Germany 163 - 163
Poland 49 - 49
Austria 14 - 14
The Netherlands 13 - 13
Total Stores 618 77 695
Australia T.K. Maxx
Australian Capital Territory 4
New South Wales 21
Queensland 24
Victoria 18
South Australia 1
Total Stores 68
DISTRIBUTION CENTERS
The following is a summary of our primary owned and leased distribution and fulfillment centers as of January 29, 2022. Square footage information for the distribution and fulfillment centers represents total “ground cover” of the facility.
Square footage in thousands Owned (sq/ft) Count Leased (sq/ft) Count Total (sq/ft) Total Count
Marmaxx 7,372 8 4,666 8 12,038 16
HomeGoods 4,518 5 1,626 2 6,144 7
Sierra 780 1 742 1 1,522 2
TJX Canada - - 2,240 5 2,240 5
TJX International - - 2,415 8 2,415 8
Total 12,670 14 11,689 24 24,359 38
OFFICE SPACE
TJX has corporate headquarters in Massachusetts which consists of both owned and leased space. Additionally, we own and lease additional office space throughout the United States and in various countries. As of January 29, 2022, TJX owned and leased a combined 3.2 million square feet of office space, primarily within the United States. Square footage information for office space represents total space owned or leased.

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ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
ITEM 3. Legal Proceedings
See Note N-Contingent Obligations, Contingencies, and Commitments of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for information on legal proceedings.

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ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE
ITEM 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
Not applicable.
PART II

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ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY
ITEM 5. Market for the Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (Symbol: TJX).
The approximate number of common shareholders of record at January 29, 2022 was 1,984.
INFORMATION ON SHARE REPURCHASES
The number of shares of common stock repurchased by TJX during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022 and the average price paid per share are as follows:
Total Number of Shares
Repurchased(a)
Average Price Paid Per Share(b)
Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs(c)
Approximate Dollar Value of Shares that
May Yet be Purchased Under the Plans or
Programs(c)
October 31, 2021 through
November 27, 2021 3,209,011 $ 70.12 3,209,011 $ 1,660,688,807
November 28, 2021 through
January 1, 2022 6,520,102 $ 72.85 6,520,102 $ 1,185,686,217
January 2, 2022 through
January 29, 2022 5,480,810 $ 71.50 5,480,810 $ 3,793,793,398
Total 15,209,923 15,209,923
(a)Consists of shares repurchased under publicly announced stock repurchase programs.
(b)Includes commissions for the shares repurchased under stock repurchase programs.
(c)In February 2022, we announced that our Board of Directors had approved a new stock repurchase program that authorizes the repurchase of up to an additional $3.0 billion of our common stock from time to time. Under this program and previously announced programs, we had approximately $3.8 billion available for repurchase as of January 29, 2022.

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ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
ITEM 6. Reserved

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
ITEM 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
TJX provides projections and other forward-looking statements in the following discussions particularly relating to our future financial performance. These forward-looking statements are estimates based on information currently available to us, are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and subject to the cautionary statements set forth on page 2 of this Form 10-K. Our results are subject to risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, those described in Part I, Item 1A, Risk Factors, and those identified from time to time in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. TJX undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.
The discussion that follows relates to our 52-week fiscal years ended January 29, 2022 (fiscal 2022), January 30, 2021 (fiscal 2021), February 1, 2020 (fiscal 2020) and January 28, 2023 (fiscal 2023).
The following is a discussion of our consolidated operating results, followed by a discussion of our segment operating results. Discussions of fiscal 2020 items and year-to-year comparisons between fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2020 that are not included in this Form 10-K can be found in “Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Part II, Item 7 of our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 30, 2021.
OVERVIEW
We are the leading off-price apparel and home fashions retailer in the U.S. and worldwide. Our mission is to deliver great value to our customers every day. We do this by selling a rapidly changing assortment of apparel, home fashions and other merchandise at prices generally 20% to 60% below full-price retailers’ (including department, specialty, and major online retailers) regular prices on comparable merchandise, every day through our stores and five distinctive branded e-commerce sites. We operate nearly 4,700 stores through our four main segments: in the U.S., Marmaxx (which operates T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, tjmaxx.com and marshalls.com) and HomeGoods (which operates HomeGoods, Homesense, and homegoods.com); TJX Canada (which operates Winners, HomeSense and Marshalls in Canada); and TJX International (which operates T.K. Maxx, Homesense and tkmaxx.com in Europe, and T.K. Maxx in Australia). In addition to our four main segments, Sierra operates sierra.com and retail stores in the U.S. The results of Sierra are included in the Marmaxx segment.
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Matters Affecting Comparability
The COVID-19 pandemic continued to impact the U.S. and other countries around the world in fiscal 2022. During fiscal 2022, while our stores in the U.S. and all of our e-commerce businesses remained open for the entire period, we did have government-mandated temporary store closures in Europe, Canada and Australia, resulting in our stores being closed in the aggregate for approximately 4% of fiscal 2022. Additionally, intermittently throughout the year, we operated under government-mandated shopping restrictions, including capacity limitations. Stores were temporarily closed for approximately 24% of fiscal 2021 due to temporary closures across all geographies. Overall, our fiscal 2022 results were significantly better than our fiscal 2021 results.
In addition to comparing current year results to fiscal 2021, we may, where meaningful, also compare these results to a comparable period in the fiscal year ended February 1, 2020, prior to the emergence of the pandemic. We believe this additional comparison provides insight into how we are managing the business and performing as compared to our pre-pandemic results.
Highlights of our financial performance for fiscal 2022 include the following:
-Net sales were $48.5 billion, $32.1 billion, and $41.7 billion for fiscal 2022, fiscal 2021, and fiscal 2020, respectively. As of January 29, 2022, the number of stores in operation increased approximately 3% and selling square footage increased 2% compared to the end of fiscal 2021.
-Diluted earnings per share were $2.70 for fiscal 2022, which included a debt extinguishment charge of $0.15 per share, compared to $0.07 for fiscal 2021, which included a debt extinguishment charge of $0.19 per share, and $2.67 for fiscal 2020.
-Pre-tax margin (the ratio of pre-tax income to net sales) was 9.1%, 0.3%, and 10.6% for fiscal 2022, fiscal 2021, and fiscal 2020, respectively.
-A debt extinguishment charge of $0.2 billion reduced fiscal 2022 pre-tax margin by 0.5 percentage points and a debt extinguishment charge of $0.3 billion reduced fiscal 2021 pre-tax margin by 1.0 percentage point.
-Our cost of sales, including buying and occupancy costs, ratio was 71.5%, 76.3%, and 71.5% for fiscal 2022, fiscal 2021, and fiscal 2020, respectively.
-Our selling, general and administrative (“SG&A”) expense ratio was 18.7%, 21.8%, and 17.9% for fiscal 2022, fiscal 2021, and fiscal 2020, respectively.
-Our consolidated average per store inventories, including inventory on hand at our distribution centers (which excludes inventory in transit) and excluding our e-commerce sites and Sierra stores, were up 31% on a reported basis and 32% on a constant currency basis at the end of fiscal 2022 as compared to fiscal 2021, and we were up 3% on both a reported basis and constant currency basis at the end of fiscal 2022 as compared to fiscal 2020.
-During fiscal 2022, we returned $3.4 billion to our shareholders through share repurchases and dividends. A dividend of $0.26 per share was declared in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022 and paid in March of 2022.
Operating Results as a Percentage of Net Sales
The following table sets forth our consolidated operating results as a percentage of net sales.
Percentage of Net Sales
Fiscal 2022 Fiscal 2021 Fiscal 2020
Net sales 100.0 % 100.0 % 100.0 %
Cost of sales, including buying and occupancy costs 71.5 76.3 71.5
Selling, general and administrative expenses 18.7 21.8 17.9
Loss on early extinguishment of debt 0.5 1.0 -
Interest expense, net 0.2 0.6 -
Income before income taxes*
9.1 % 0.3 % 10.6 %
*Figures may not foot due to rounding.
Recent Events and Trends
Divestiture of Equity Investment
Subsequent to the fiscal year ended January 29, 2022, given the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine, we committed to divesting our equity ownership in Familia. As of March 2, 2022, Douglas Mizzi and Scott Goldenberg have resigned from their director and observer positions, respectively, on Familia’s board of directors, effective immediately. As a result of this commitment to divest, we may recognize an investment loss of up to $225 million. Prior to divestiture, we may be required to record an impairment charge if the fair value of our investment in Familia declines below its carrying value on our Consolidated Balance Sheets.
In fiscal 2020, we invested $225 million for a 25% non-controlling, minority interest in privately held Familia. Familia, domiciled in Luxembourg, is an off-price retailer of apparel and home fashions with more than 400 stores in Russia. We account for our investment in Familia using the equity method of accounting. As of January 29, 2022, the carrying value of our investment in Familia was $186 million, which reflects the revaluing of the investment from Russian rubles to the U.S. dollar, resulting in a cumulative translation loss and reducing the carrying value of our investment by approximately $40 million. See additional information on the Equity Investment in Note A-Basis of Presentation and Summary of Accounting Policies of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
COVID-19
The significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our global retail operations that began during fiscal 2021 continued to impact our business in fiscal 2022. We entered fiscal 2022 with significant ongoing global uncertainty related to the pandemic. The health and safety of our Associates and customers remained a top priority during fiscal 2022, and we continue to monitor developments, including government requirements and recommendations that could result in possible additional impacts to our operations.
The below table represents total store days closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic as a percentage of potential total store days open in fiscal 2022 and fiscal 2021 by segment.
Fiscal 2022 Fiscal 2021
Marmaxx - % 20 %
HomeGoods - % 20 %
TJX Canada 12 % 29 %
TJX International 19 % 36 %
TJX Consolidated 4 % 24 %
Net Sales
Net sales totaled $48.5 billion, $32.1 billion, and $41.7 billion for fiscal 2022, fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2020, respectively. Net sales from our e-commerce sites combined amounted to less than 3% of total sales for each of fiscal 2022, fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2020.
As a result of the extensive temporary store closures during fiscal 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and our practice relating to the treatment of extended temporary store closures when calculating comp store sales, we had no stores classified as comp stores at the end of fiscal 2022 and fiscal 2021.
For fiscal 2022, we temporarily reported open-only comp store sales, as described below. For fiscal 2023, we intend to return to our historical definition of comparable store sales. While stores in the U.S. were open for all of fiscal 2022, a significant number of stores in TJX Canada and TJX International experienced COVID-19 related temporary store closures and government-mandated shopping restrictions during fiscal 2022. Therefore, we cannot measure year-over-year comparable store sales with fiscal 2022 in these geographies in a meaningful way. As a result, the comparable stores included in the fiscal 2023 measure will consist of U.S. stores only, which, we intend to refer to as U.S. comparable store sales and will be calculated against sales for the comparable periods in fiscal 2022. Our historical definition of comp store sales is also presented below for reference.
Fiscal 2022 vs Fiscal 2021
Net sales increased 51% in fiscal 2022 compared to fiscal 2021. Our stores in the U.S. and all of our e-commerce businesses remained open for the entire period, while we had temporary closures in Europe, Canada, and Australia resulting in our stores being closed in the aggregate for approximately 4% of fiscal 2022, as compared to stores across all geographies being temporarily closed for approximately 24% for fiscal 2021. In addition to stores being open for more days in fiscal 2022, net sales further increased due to higher customer traffic and increased average basket.
Fiscal 2022 vs Fiscal 2020
Net sales increased 16% and open-only comp store sales were up 15% for fiscal 2022 compared to fiscal 2020. U.S. open-only comp store sales were up 17% for fiscal 2022 compared to fiscal 2020. This reflects an increase in average basket across all divisions. Customer traffic was up in the U.S., where stores were open for all of fiscal 2022, and was down in geographies where we had COVID-19 related temporary store closures and government-mandated shopping restrictions. Our open-only comp store sales increase in home fashions was significantly above our overall open-only comp increase. In apparel, we had strong open-only comp store sales growth during fiscal 2022 compared to the same period in fiscal 2020.
Historical Comparable Store Sales
Historically, we defined comparable store sales, or comp sales, to be sales of stores that have been in operation for all or a portion of two consecutive fiscal years, or in other words, stores that are starting their third fiscal year of operation. We calculated comp sales on a 52-week basis by comparing the current and prior year weekly periods that are most closely aligned. Relocated stores and stores that have changed in size are generally classified in the same way as the original store, and we believe that the impact of these stores on the consolidated comp percentage is immaterial.
Sales excluded from comp sales (“non-comp sales”) consist of sales from:
-New stores - stores that have not yet met the comp sales criteria, which represents a substantial majority of non-comp sales
-Stores that are closed permanently or for an extended period of time
-Sales from our e-commerce sites, meaning sierra.com, tjmaxx.com, marshalls.com, homegoods.com and tkmaxx.com
We determine which stores are included in the comp sales calculation at the beginning of a fiscal year and the classification remains constant throughout that year unless a store is closed permanently or for an extended period during that fiscal year. Beginning in fiscal 2020, Sierra stores that fit the comp store definition were included in comp stores in our Marmaxx segment.
Comp sales of our foreign segments are calculated by translating the current year’s comp sales using the prior year’s exchange rates. This removes the effect of changes in currency exchange rates, which we believe is a more accurate measure of segment operating performance.
Comp sales may be referred to as “same store” sales by other retail companies. The method for calculating comp sales varies across the retail industry, therefore our measure of comp sales may not be comparable to that of other retail companies.
We define customer traffic to be the number of transactions in stores and average ticket to be the average retail price of the units sold. We define average transaction or average basket to be the average dollar value of transactions.
Open-Only Comp Store Sales
Due to the temporary closing of stores as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, our historical definition of comp store sales is not applicable for the reported periods. Since the second quarter of fiscal 2021, we temporarily reported open-only comp store sales. Open-only comp store sales includes stores initially classified as comp stores at the beginning of fiscal 2021 that had to temporarily close due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This measure reports the sales increase or decrease of these stores for the days the stores were open in the current period against sales for the same days in fiscal 2020, prior to the pandemic. Open-only comp store sales of our foreign segments are calculated by translating the current year using fiscal 2020’s exchange rates.
Revenues by Geography
The percentages of our consolidated revenues by geography for the last three fiscal years are as follows:
Fiscal 2022 Fiscal 2021 Fiscal 2020
United States:
Northeast 23 % 23 % 23 %
Midwest 13 13 13
South (including Puerto Rico) 27 27 25
West 16 16 15
Total United States 79 % 79 % 76 %
Canada 9 9 10
Europe 11 11 13
Australia 1 1 1
Total TJX 100 % 100 % 100 %
Impact of Foreign Currency Exchange Rates
Our operating results are affected by foreign currency exchange rates as a result of changes in the value of the U.S. dollar or a division’s local currency in relation to other currencies. We specifically refer to “foreign currency” as the impact of translational foreign currency exchange and mark-to-market of inventory derivatives, as described in detail below. This does not include the impact foreign currency exchange rates can have on various transactions that are denominated in a currency other than an operating division’s local currency referred to as “transactional foreign exchange,” also described below.
Translation Foreign Exchange
In our consolidated financial statements, we translate the operations of TJX Canada and TJX International from local currencies into U.S. dollars using currency rates in effect at different points in time. Significant changes in foreign exchange rates between comparable prior periods can result in meaningful variations in assets, liabilities, net sales, net income and earnings per share growth as well as the net sales and operating results of these segments. Currency translation generally does not affect operating margins, or affects them only slightly, as sales and expenses of the foreign operations are translated at approximately the same rates within a given period.
Mark-to-Market Inventory Derivatives
We routinely enter into inventory-related hedging instruments to mitigate the impact on earnings of changes in foreign currency exchange rates on merchandise purchases denominated in currencies other than the local currencies of our divisions, principally TJX Canada and TJX International. As we have not elected “hedge accounting” for these instruments, as defined by U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), we record a mark-to-market gain or loss on the derivative instruments in our results of operations at the end of each reporting period. In subsequent periods, the income statement impact of the mark-to-market adjustment is effectively offset when the inventory being hedged is received and paid for. While these effects occur every reporting period, they are of much greater magnitude when there are sudden and significant changes in currency exchange rates during a short period of time. The mark-to-market adjustment on these derivatives does not affect net sales, but it does affect the cost of sales, operating margins and earnings we report.
Transactional Foreign Exchange
When discussing the impact on our results of the effect of foreign currency exchange rates on certain transactions, we refer to it as “transactional foreign exchange”. This primarily includes the impact that foreign currency exchange rates may have on the year-over-year comparison of merchandise margin as well as “foreign currency gains and losses” on transactions that are denominated in a currency other than the operating division's local currency. These two items can impact segment margin comparison of our foreign divisions and we have highlighted them when they are meaningful to understanding operating trends.
Cost of Sales, Including Buying and Occupancy Costs
Cost of sales, including buying and occupancy costs, was $34.7 billion, or 71.5% of net sales, $24.5 billion, or 76.3% of net sales, $29.8 billion, or 71.5% of net sales for fiscal 2022, fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2020, respectively.
Fiscal 2022 vs Fiscal 2021
The increase in the total cost of sales, including buying and occupancy costs, was primarily due to the additional cost of merchandise sold due to a higher level of sales in fiscal 2022 compared to fiscal 2021. Our stores were temporarily closed in the aggregate for approximately 4% of fiscal 2022 and approximately 24% of fiscal 2021. Merchandise margin improved during fiscal 2022, primarily driven by favorable markdowns, offset by increased freight costs. In addition, supply chain costs increased due to additional investments in distribution capacity and higher wages, which, along with freight costs, are expected to continue into the next fiscal year.
Cost of sales, including buying and occupancy costs, was favorably impacted by approximately $27 million and $78 million of government programs for fiscal 2022 and fiscal 2021, respectively, in regions where we had temporary store closures.
Fiscal 2022 vs Fiscal 2020
The expense ratio was flat for fiscal 2022 compared to the fiscal 2020. The ratio reflects the leverage on our occupancy costs due to the strong open-only comp store sales growth. Within merchandise margin, strong markon and lower markdowns more than offset approximately 200 basis points of incremental freight costs in fiscal 2022. The occupancy and merchandise margin improvements were offset by higher supply chain costs primarily due to additional investments to expand distribution capacity and higher wage costs.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
SG&A expenses were $9.1 billion, or 18.7% of net sales, $7.0 billion, or 21.8% of net sales and $7.5 billion, or 17.9% of net sales for fiscal 2022, fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2020, respectively.
Fiscal 2022 vs Fiscal 2021
The increase in SG&A expense for fiscal 2022 was primarily driven by higher store payroll costs to support a higher sales volume. In addition to these costs, incentive compensation costs and other variable store costs, such as advertising spend and credit processing fees, were higher in fiscal 2022 as compared to fiscal 2021.
SG&A expense was favorably impacted by $214 million and $434 million from government programs for fiscal 2022 and fiscal 2021, respectively, in regions where we had temporary store closures.
Fiscal 2022 vs Fiscal 2020
The expense ratio increased 0.8% for fiscal 2022 compared to fiscal 2020. The increase was driven by higher store payroll costs, primarily due to incremental COVID-19 related payroll costs.
Loss on Early Extinguishment of Debt
On June 4, 2021, we completed make-whole calls for our $1.25 billion aggregate principal amount of 3.50% Notes maturing in 2025 and our $750 million aggregate principal amount of 3.75% Notes maturing in 2027. As a result of these redemptions prior to their scheduled maturities, we recorded a pre-tax debt extinguishment charge of $242 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2022. For additional information on the debt transactions, see Note J-Long-Term Debt and Credit Lines of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
In fiscal 2021, we completed the issuance and sale of certain of our Notes and used the proceeds to partially fund the purchase of certain Notes, resulting in a pre-tax early extinguishment debt charge of $312 million.
Interest Expense, net
The components of interest expense, net for the last two fiscal years are summarized below:
Fiscal Year Ended
In millions January 29,
2022 January 30,
Interest expense $ 123 $ 199
Capitalized interest (4) (5)
Interest (income) (4) (13)
Interest expense, net $ 115 $ 181
Net interest expense decreased for fiscal 2022 compared to fiscal 2021, primarily due to the prior year’s refinancing of certain notes in December 2020 as well as the $2.75 billion pay down of outstanding debt during fiscal 2022.
Provision (Benefit) for Income Taxes
The effective income tax rate was 25.4%, (1.4)%, and 25.7% for fiscal 2022, fiscal 2021, and fiscal 2020, respectively. The increase in the fiscal 2022 effective income tax rate was primarily due to the significant increase in profit in fiscal 2022 as compared to the mix of income and losses by jurisdictions in fiscal 2021.
Net Income and Diluted Earnings Per Share
Net income was $3.3 billion, $0.1 billion, and $3.3 billion in fiscal 2022, fiscal 2021, and fiscal 2020, respectively. Diluted earnings per share in fiscal 2022 were $2.70, which included a second quarter debt extinguishment charge of $0.15, $0.07 in fiscal 2021, which included a debt extinguishment charge of $0.19, and $2.67 in fiscal 2020.
Segment Information
We operate four main business segments. Our Marmaxx segment (T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, tjmaxx.com and marshalls.com) and our HomeGoods segment (HomeGoods, Homesense and homegoods.com) both operate in the United States. Our TJX Canada segment operates Winners, HomeSense and Marshalls in Canada, and our TJX International segment operates T.K. Maxx, Homesense and tkmaxx.com in Europe and T.K. Maxx in Australia. In addition to our four main segments, Sierra operates sierra.com and retail stores in the U.S. The results of Sierra are included in the Marmaxx segment.
We evaluate the performance of our segments based on “segment profit or loss,” which we define as pre-tax income or loss before general corporate expense and interest expense, net, and certain separately disclosed unusual or infrequent items. “Segment profit or loss,” as we define the term, may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies. The terms “segment margin” or “segment profit margin” are used to describe segment profit or loss as a percentage of net sales. These measures of performance should not be considered an alternative to net income or cash flows from operating activities as an indicator of our performance or as a measure of liquidity.
When discussing current year segment results, in addition to comparing to fiscal 2021, we may, where meaningful, also compare these results to a comparable period in fiscal 2020, prior to the emergence of the pandemic.
Presented below is selected financial information related to our business segments.
U.S. SEGMENTS
Marmaxx
Fiscal Year Ended
U.S. dollars in millions January 29,
2022 January 30,
2021 February 1,
Net sales $ 29,483 $ 19,363 $ 25,665
Segment profit $ 3,813 $ 891 $ 3,470
Segment margin 12.9 % 4.6 % 13.5 %
Stores in operation at end of period:
T.J. Maxx 1,284 1,271 1,273
Marshalls 1,148 1,131 1,130
Sierra 59 48 46
Total 2,491 2,450 2,449
Selling square footage at end of period (in thousands):
T.J. Maxx 27,887 27,707 27,781
Marshalls 26,180 25,915 25,909
Sierra 960 796 766
Total 55,027 54,418 54,456
Net Sales
Net sales for Marmaxx were $29.5 billion for fiscal 2022, an increase of 52% compared to $19.4 billion for fiscal 2021. The increase in net sales reflects stores remaining open for all of fiscal 2022. Stores were closed for approximately 20% of fiscal 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to stores being open for more days in fiscal 2022, net sales further increased due to higher customer traffic and increased average basket.
Net sales increased 15% compared to $25.7 billion for fiscal 2020. Open-only comp store sales were up 13% compared to fiscal 2020. The increase in open-only comp store sales for fiscal 2022 was primarily driven by an increase in average basket. In addition, customer traffic was up slightly. While our open-only comp store sales increase in home fashions continued to significantly exceed those of apparel, we had strong open-only comp store sales growth in apparel for fiscal 2022. During fiscal 2022, we had strong sales at Marmaxx across all geographic regions.
Segment Profit
Fiscal 2022 vs Fiscal 2021
Segment profit was $3.8 billion for fiscal 2022, an increase of $2.9 billion, compared to a segment profit of $0.9 billion for fiscal 2021. The increase was primarily driven by increased sales due to stores remaining open for all of fiscal 2022. Merchandise margin improved primarily due to lower markdowns, partially offset by incremental freight costs. Fiscal 2021 also benefited $171 million from government programs.
Fiscal 2022 vs Fiscal 2020
Segment profit increased by $0.3 billion compared to a segment profit of $3.5 billion for fiscal 2020, primarily due to the increase in sales. Segment profit margin decreased to 12.9% for fiscal 2022 compared to 13.5% for fiscal 2020. The decrease was primarily driven by incremental COVID-19 related store payroll costs and higher supply chain costs, partially offset by leverage on occupancy costs due to the strong open-only comp store sales growth and improved merchandise margin. Within merchandise margin, strong markon and lower markdowns collectively more than offset incremental freight costs.
Our Marmaxx e-commerce sites, tjmaxx.com and marshalls.com, together with sierra.com, represented less than 3% of Marmaxx’s net sales for fiscal 2022, fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2020 and did not have a significant impact on year-over-year segment margin comparisons.
In fiscal 2023, we expect to open approximately 55 Marmaxx stores and 20 Sierra stores, which would increase selling square footage by approximately 2%.
HomeGoods
Fiscal Year Ended
U.S. dollars in millions January 29,
2022 January 30,
2021 February 1,
Net sales $ 8,995 $ 6,096 $ 6,356
Segment profit $ 907 $ 510 $ 681
Segment margin 10.1 % 8.4 % 10.7 %
Stores in operation at end of period:
HomeGoods 850 821 809
Homesense 39 34 32
Total 889 855 841
Selling square footage at end of period (in thousands):
HomeGoods 15,550 15,034 14,831
Homesense 837 733 685
Total 16,387 15,767 15,516
Net Sales
Net sales for HomeGoods were $9.0 billion for fiscal 2022, an increase of 48%, compared to $6.1 billion for fiscal 2021. The increase in net sales reflects stores remaining open for all of fiscal 2022. Stores were temporarily closed for approximately 20% of fiscal 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to stores being open for more days in fiscal 2022, net sales further increased due to higher customer traffic and increased average basket.
Net sales increased 42% compared to $6.4 billion for fiscal 2020. Open-only comp store sales were up 32% for fiscal 2022 compared to fiscal 2020. The increase in open-only comp store sales was driven by an increase in average basket and customer traffic. During fiscal 2022, we had strong sales at HomeGoods and Homesense across all major categories and geographic regions.
Segment Profit
Fiscal 2022 vs Fiscal 2021
Segment profit was $0.9 billion for fiscal 2022, an increase of $0.4 billion, compared to a segment profit of $0.5 billion for fiscal 2021. The increase was primarily driven by increased sales due to stores remaining open for all of fiscal 2022, partially offset by lower merchandise margin due to increased freight costs. Fiscal 2021 also benefited $46 million from government programs.
Fiscal 2022 vs Fiscal 2020
Segment profit increased by $0.2 billion compared to a segment profit of $0.7 billion for fiscal 2020, primarily due to the increase in sales. Segment profit margin decreased to 10.1% for fiscal 2022 compared to 10.7% for fiscal 2020. The decrease in segment profit margin was primarily driven by higher supply chain costs, lower merchandise margin, and incremental COVID-19 related store payroll costs and higher store wages, partially offset by the expense leverage on our occupancy and administrative costs due to the strong open-only comp store sales growth. Within merchandise margin, incremental freight costs more than offset strong markon and lower markdowns.
During the third quarter of fiscal 2022, HomeGoods made online shopping available on www.homegoods.com.
In fiscal 2023, we expect to open approximately 60 HomeGoods stores, including 10 Homesense stores, which would increase selling square footage by approximately 7%.
FOREIGN SEGMENTS
TJX Canada
Fiscal Year Ended
U.S. dollars in millions January 29,
2022 January 30,
2021 February 1,
Net sales $ 4,343 $ 2,836 $ 4,031
Segment profit $ 485 $ 124 $ 516
Segment margin 11.2 % 4.4 % 12.8 %
Stores in operation at end of period:
Winners 293 280 279
HomeSense 147 143 137
Marshalls 106 102 97
Total 546 525 513
Selling square footage at end of period (in thousands):
Winners 6,300 6,015 5,986
HomeSense 2,708 2,644 2,511
Marshalls 2,220 2,141 2,043
Total 11,228 10,800 10,540
Net Sales
Net sales for TJX Canada were $4.3 billion for fiscal 2022, an increase of 53% compared to $2.8 billion for fiscal 2021. The increase in net sales reflected temporary store closures, which were closed for approximately 12% of fiscal 2022 and 29% of fiscal 2021, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to stores being open for more days in fiscal 2022, net sales further increased due to higher customer traffic and increased average basket.
Net sales for TJX Canada increased 8% compared to $4.0 billion for fiscal 2020. On a constant currency basis, net sales increased 2% for fiscal 2022. Open-only comp store sales were up 8% for fiscal 2022 compared to fiscal 2020 and were negatively impacted by significant government-mandated shopping restrictions. The increase in open-only comp store sales was driven by an increase in average basket, partially offset by reduced customer traffic.
Segment Profit
Fiscal 2022 vs Fiscal 2021
Segment profit was $0.5 billion for fiscal 2022, an increase of $0.4 billion, compared to a segment profit of $0.1 billion for fiscal 2021. The increase for fiscal 2022 was primarily driven by increased sales due to having fewer temporary store closures in fiscal 2022 compared to fiscal 2021. Within merchandise margin, lower markdowns and higher markon were partially offset by increased freight costs. Fiscal 2022 also reflected $84 million of government programs compared to $148 million for fiscal 2021.
Fiscal 2022 vs Fiscal 2020
Segment profit decreased $31 million compared to a segment profit of $516 million for fiscal 2020. Segment profit margin decreased to 11.2% for fiscal 2022 compared to 12.8% for fiscal 2020. The decrease in segment profit margin was primarily driven by higher supply chain costs and higher store payroll, including incremental COVID-19 related costs, net of government programs. This was partially offset by improved merchandise margin. Within merchandise margin, strong markon and lower markdowns collectively more than offset incremental freight costs.
In fiscal 2023, we expect to open approximately 10 stores in Canada, which would increase selling square footage by approximately 1%.
TJX International
Fiscal Year Ended
U.S. dollars in millions January 29,
2022 January 30,
2021 February 1,
Net sales $ 5,729 $ 3,842 $ 5,665
Segment profit (loss) $ 161 $ (504) $ 307
Segment margin 2.8 % (13.1) % 5.4 %
Stores in operation at end of period:
T.K. Maxx 618 602 594
Homesense 77 78 78
T.K. Maxx Australia 68 62 54
Total 763 742 726
Selling square footage at end of period (in thousands):
T.K. Maxx 12,412 12,131 11,997
Homesense 1,126 1,142 1,149
T.K. Maxx Australia 1,198 1,109 990
Total 14,736 14,382 14,136
Net Sales
Net sales for TJX International were $5.7 billion for fiscal 2022, an increase of 49% compared to $3.8 billion for fiscal 2021. The increase in net sales reflected temporary store closures, which were closed for approximately 19% of fiscal 2022 and 36% of fiscal 2021, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to stores being open for more days in fiscal 2022, net sales further increased due to higher customer traffic and increased average basket.
Net sales for TJX International increased 1% compared to $5.7 billion for fiscal 2020. On a constant currency basis, net sales decreased 5% for fiscal 2022 compared to fiscal 2020. Open-only comp store sales were up 6% for fiscal 2022 compared to fiscal 2020 and were negatively impacted by significant government-mandated shopping restrictions. The increase in open-only comp store sales was driven by an increase in average basket, partially offset by reduced customer traffic.
E-commerce sales at tkmaxx.com represented less than 6% of TJX International’s net sales for fiscal 2022, fiscal 2021, and fiscal 2020, respectively.
Segment Profit/(Loss)
Fiscal 2022 vs Fiscal 2021
Segment profit was $0.2 billion for fiscal 2022, an increase of $0.7 billion, compared to a segment loss of $(0.5) billion for fiscal 2021. The increase for fiscal 2022 was primarily driven by increased sales due to having fewer temporary store closures in fiscal 2022 compared to fiscal 2021. The increase in segment profit includes improved merchandise margin primarily due to lower markdowns. Fiscal 2022 also reflected $157 million of government programs compared to $140 million for fiscal 2021.
Fiscal 2022 vs Fiscal 2020
Segment profit decreased $0.1 billion compared to a segment profit of $0.3 billion for fiscal 2020. Segment profit margin decreased to 2.8% for fiscal 2022 compared to 5.4% for fiscal 2020. The decrease in segment profit was primarily driven by incremental store payroll, higher supply chain costs and reduced merchandise margin. Within merchandise margin, increased freight expense was partially offset by lower markdowns. Segment profit was favorably impacted by the government programs received in fiscal 2022.
In fiscal 2023, we expect to open approximately 15 stores in Europe and approximately 10 stores in Australia, which would increase selling square footage by approximately 3%.
GENERAL CORPORATE EXPENSE
Fiscal Year Ended
In millions January 29,
2022 January 30,
General corporate expense $ 611 $ 439
General corporate expense for segment reporting purposes represents those costs not specifically related to the operations of our business segments. General corporate expenses are primarily included in SG&A expenses. The mark-to-market adjustment of our fuel hedges is included in cost of sales, including buying and occupancy costs.
The increase in general corporate expense for fiscal 2022 was primarily driven by higher share-based and incentive compensation costs.
ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Our liquidity requirements have traditionally been funded through cash generated from operations, supplemented, as needed, by short-term bank borrowings and the issuance of commercial paper. As of January 29, 2022, there were no short-term bank borrowings or commercial paper outstanding. We believe our existing cash and cash equivalents, internally generated funds and our credit facilities, under which facilities we have $1.5 billion available as of the period ended January 29, 2022, as described in Note J-Long-Term Debt and Credit Lines of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, are adequate to meet our operating needs for the foreseeable future.
As of January 29, 2022, we held $6.2 billion in cash. Approximately $1.4 billion of our cash was held by our foreign subsidiaries with $0.6 billion held in countries where we intend to indefinitely reinvest any undistributed earnings. We have provided for all applicable state and foreign withholding taxes on all undistributed earnings of our foreign subsidiaries in Canada, Puerto Rico, Italy, India, Hong Kong and Vietnam through January 29, 2022. If we repatriate cash from such subsidiaries, we should not incur additional tax expense and our cash would be reduced by the amount of withholding taxes paid.
We monitor debt financing markets on an ongoing basis and from time to time may incur additional long-term indebtedness depending on prevailing market conditions, liquidity requirements, existing economic conditions and other factors. During fiscal 2022 we have used, and in the future we may use, operating cash flow and cash on hand to repay portions of our indebtedness, depending on prevailing market conditions, liquidity requirements, existing economic conditions, contractual restrictions and other factors. As such, we may, from time to time, seek to retire, redeem, prepay or purchase our outstanding debt through redemptions, cash purchases, prepayments, refinancings and/or exchanges, in open market purchases, privately negotiated transactions, by tender offer or otherwise. If we use our operating cash flow and/or cash on hand to repay our debt, it will reduce the amount of cash available for additional capital expenditures.
Operating Activities
Net cash provided by operating activities was $3.1 billion in fiscal 2022 and $4.6 billion in fiscal 2021. Our operating cash flows decreased by $1.5 billion compared to fiscal 2021 due to the $4.7 billion change in merchandise inventories net of accounts payable, driven by rebuilding inventory levels in fiscal 2022 as well as the timing of merchandise payments in fiscal 2021. In addition, operating cash flows were negatively impacted by the $0.3 billion decrease in net operating lease liabilities due to the repayment of many of the rent deferrals negotiated in fiscal 2021. The decrease in operating cash flows was partially offset by a $3.2 billion increase in net income. Temporary store closures in fiscal 2021 resulted in net income of $0.1 billion in fiscal 2021 compared to net income of $3.3 billion in fiscal 2022.
Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities resulted in net cash outflows of $1.0 billion in fiscal 2022 and $0.6 billion in fiscal 2021. The cash outflows for both periods were primarily driven by capital expenditures and were lower in fiscal 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Net cash used in investing activities include capital expenditures for the last two fiscal years as set forth in the table below:
Fiscal Year Ended
In millions January 29,
2022 January 30,
New stores $ 79 $ 61
Store renovations and improvements 367 124
Office and distribution centers 599 383
Total capital expenditures
$ 1,045 $ 568
We expect our capital expenditures in fiscal 2023 will be in the range of approximately $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion, including approximately $1.0 billion to $1.1 billion for our offices and distribution centers (including buying and merchandising systems and other information systems) to support growth, approximately $0.5 billion to $0.6 billion for store renovations and approximately $0.2 billion for new stores. We plan to fund these expenditures with our existing cash balances and through internally generated funds.
Financing Activities
Net cash used in financing activities resulted in net cash outflows of $6.2 billion in fiscal 2022 compared to net cash inflows of $3.2 billion in fiscal 2021. In fiscal 2022, the cash outflows were primarily driven by debt repayments, equity repurchases and dividend payments. In fiscal 2021, the cash inflows were primarily driven by debt transactions.
Debt
The cash outflows in fiscal 2022 were due to the completion of make-whole calls and the redemption at par of certain of our notes. The notes redeemed via make-whole calls were issued in the first quarter of fiscal 2021 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of these redemptions prior to their scheduled maturities, we recorded a pre-tax debt extinguishment charge of $242 million in fiscal 2022. Additionally, in fiscal 2022 we redeemed at par $750 million principal outstanding, 2.75% Notes due June 15, 2021. The result of these debt redemptions resulted in a $2.75 billion reduction of outstanding debt since the beginning of fiscal 2022 and will result in more than $90 million of annualized interest expense savings. The cash inflows in fiscal 2021 were a result of completing the issuance and sale of $4 billion aggregate principal amount of notes. See Note J-Long-Term Debt and Credit Lines of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information.
Equity
In fiscal 2022, we lifted the temporary suspension of our repurchase program and we paid $2.2 billion to repurchase and retire 31.3 million shares of our stock on a settlement basis under our previously authorized stock repurchase programs. Prior to the temporary suspension of our share repurchase program, we paid $0.2 billion to repurchase and retire 3.4 million shares on a settlement basis in fiscal 2021. These outflows for both periods were partially offset by proceeds from the exercise of employee stock options, net of shares withheld for taxes, of $0.2 billion in both fiscal 2022 and fiscal 2021.
In January 2022, the Board of Directors approved a new stock repurchase program that authorizes the repurchase of up to an additional $3.0 billion of our common stock from time to time. We currently plan to repurchase approximately $2.25 billion to $2.5 billion of stock under our stock repurchase programs in fiscal 2023. We determine the timing and amount of repurchases based on our assessment of various factors including excess cash flow, liquidity, economic and market conditions, our assessment of prospects for our business, legal requirements, and other factors. The timing and amount of these purchases may change. As of January 29, 2022, approximately $3.8 billion remained available under our existing stock repurchase programs. For further information regarding equity repurchases, see Note D-Capital Stock and Earnings Per Share of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
Dividends
We declared quarterly dividends on our common stock of $0.26 per share for each of the quarters in fiscal 2022 which totaled $1.04 per share in fiscal 2022. As a result of the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, no dividends were declared in the first nine months of fiscal 2021. Cash payments for dividends on our common stock totaled $1.3 billion for fiscal 2022 and $0.3 billion for fiscal 2021. We expect to pay quarterly dividends for fiscal 2023 of $0.295 per share, or an annual dividend of $1.18 per share, subject to the declaration and approval by our Board of Directors. This would represent a 13% increase over the per share dividends declared and paid in fiscal 2022.
Contractual Obligations
See the descriptions of our financing arrangements, commitments and contingencies, and contractual obligations outlined below and within the following Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
-See Note J-Long-Term Debt and Credit Lines of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for future payments under long-term debt arrangements (including current installments).
-See Note L-Leases of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements. Operating lease liabilities exclude legally binding minimum lease payments for approximately 170 leases signed but not yet commenced and include options to extend lease terms that are now deemed reasonably certain of being exercised according to our Lease Accounting Policy. The balances do not include variable costs for insurance, real estate taxes, other operating expenses and, in some cases, rentals based on a percentage of sales; these items totaled approximately one-third of the total minimum rent for fiscal 2022.
-See Note M-Accrued Expenses and Other Liabilities, Current and Long Term of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for long-term liabilities for which it is not reasonably possible for us to predict when they may be paid, which includes $0.6 billion for employee compensation and benefits and $0.3 billion for uncertain tax positions.
-We also have non-cancellable purchase obligations under purchase orders for merchandise and under agreements for capital items, products and services used in our business, including executive employment and other agreements.
CRITICAL ACCOUNTING ESTIMATES
We prepare our consolidated financial statements in accordance with GAAP which requires us to make certain estimates and judgments that impact our reported results. These judgments and estimates are based on historical experience and other factors which we continually review and believe are reasonable. We consider our most critical accounting estimates, involving uncertainty requiring management estimates and judgments, to be those relating to the areas described below.
Inventory Valuation
We use the retail method for valuing inventory for all our businesses except T.K. Maxx in Australia. The businesses that utilize the retail method have some inventory that is initially valued at cost before the retail method is applied as it has not been fully processed for sale (i.e. inventory in transit and unprocessed inventory in our distribution centers). Under the retail method, the cost value of inventory and gross margins are determined by calculating a cost-to-retail ratio and applying it to the retail value of inventory. It involves management estimates with regard to markdowns and inventory shrinkage. Under the retail method, permanent markdowns are reflected in inventory valuation when the price of an item is reduced. We have a specific policy as to when and how markdowns are to be taken, greatly reducing management’s discretion and the need for management estimates as to markdowns. Inventory shrinkage requires estimating a shrinkage rate for interim periods; however, we take a full physical inventory near the fiscal year end to determine shrinkage at year end. We do not generally enter into arrangements with vendors that provide for rebates and allowances that could ultimately affect the value of inventory.
Reserves for Uncertain Tax Positions
Similar to many large corporations, our income and other tax returns and reports are regularly audited by federal, state and local tax authorities in the United States and in foreign jurisdictions where we operate, and such authorities may challenge positions we take. We are engaged in various administrative and judicial proceedings in multiple jurisdictions with respect to assessments, claims, deficiencies and refunds and other tax matters, which proceedings are in various stages of negotiation, assessment, examination, litigation and settlement. The outcomes of these proceedings are uncertain. In accordance with GAAP, we evaluate our uncertain tax positions based on our understanding of the facts, circumstances and information available at the reporting date, and we accrue for exposure when we believe that it is more likely than not, based on the technical merits, that the positions we have taken will not be sustained. However, in the next twelve months and in future periods, the amounts we accrue for uncertain tax positions from time to time or ultimately pay, as the result of the final resolutions of examinations, judicial or administrative proceedings, changes in facts, law, or legal interpretations, expiration of applicable statute of limitations or other resolutions of, or changes in, tax positions may differ either positively or negatively from the amounts we have accrued, and may result in reductions to or additions to accruals, refund claims or payments for periods not currently under examination or for which no claims have been made. Final resolutions of our tax positions or changes in accruals for uncertain tax positions could result in additional tax expense or benefit and could have a material impact on our results of operations of the period in which an examination or proceeding is resolved or in the period in which a changed outcome becomes probable and reasonably estimable.
Loss Contingencies
Certain conditions may exist as of the date the consolidated financial statements are issued that may result in a loss to us but will not be resolved until one or more future events occur or fail to occur. Our management, with the assistance of our legal counsel, assesses such contingent liabilities. Such assessments inherently involve the exercise of judgment. In assessing loss contingencies related to legal proceedings that are pending against us or claims that may result in such proceedings, our legal counsel assists us in evaluating the perceived merits of any legal proceedings or claims as well as the perceived merits of the relief sought or expected to be sought therein.
If the assessment of a contingency indicates that it is probable that a material loss has been incurred and the amount of the liability can be reasonably estimated, we will accrue for the estimated liability in the consolidated financial statements. If the assessment indicates that a potentially material loss contingency is not probable, but is reasonably possible, or is probable but cannot be reasonably estimated, we will disclose the nature of the contingent liability, together with an estimate of the range of the possible loss or a statement that such loss is not reasonably estimable.
RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS
For a discussion of any new accounting pronouncements, see Note A-Basis of Presentation and Summary of Accounting Policies of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this annual report on Form 10-K. We do not expect any recently issued accounting pronouncements will have a material effect on our consolidated financial statements.

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ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
ITEM 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure about Market Risk
We are exposed to market risks in the ordinary course of business. Some potential market risks are discussed below:
FOREIGN CURRENCY EXCHANGE RISK
We are exposed to foreign currency exchange rate risk on the translation of our foreign operations into the U.S. dollar and on purchases of goods in currencies that are not the local currencies of stores where the goods are sold and on intercompany debt and interest payable between and among our domestic and international operations. Our currency risk primarily relates to our activity in the Canadian dollar, British pound and Euro. As more fully described in Note E-Financial Instruments of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, we use derivative financial instruments to hedge a portion of certain merchandise purchase commitments, primarily at our international operations, and a portion of our intercompany transactions with and within our international operations. We enter into derivative contracts only for the purpose of hedging the underlying economic exposure. We utilize currency forward and swap contracts, designed to offset the gains or losses on the underlying exposures. The contracts are executed with banks we believe are creditworthy and are denominated in currencies of major industrial countries. Our foreign exchange risk management policy prohibits us from using derivative financial instruments for trading or other speculative purposes and we do not use any leveraged derivative financial instruments. We have performed a sensitivity analysis assuming a hypothetical 10% movement in foreign currency exchange rates applied to the hedging contracts and the underlying exposures described above as well as the translation of our foreign operations into our reporting currency. The analysis indicated a potential impact of approximately $65 million on our pre-tax income in fiscal 2022 and approximately $38 million in fiscal 2021.
EQUITY PRICE AND OTHER MARKET RISK
The assets of our funded qualified pension plan, a portion of which are equity securities, are subject to the risks and uncertainties of the financial markets. We invest the pension assets (described further in Note I-Pension Plans and Other Retirement Benefits of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements) in a manner that attempts to manage our exposure to market uncertainties. Investments, in general, are exposed to various risks, such as interest rate, credit, and overall market volatility risks. A significant decline in the financial markets could adversely affect the value of our pension plan assets and the funded status of our pension plan, resulting in increased required contributions to the plan or other plan-related liabilities. Our pension plan investment policy prohibits the use of derivatives for speculative purposes.

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ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
ITEM 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
The information required by this item may be found on pages through of this annual report on Form 10-K.

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ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS
ITEM 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
Not applicable.

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ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
ITEM 9A. Controls and Procedures
(a) Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
We have carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures, as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act, as of the end of the period covered by this report pursuant to Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15 of the Exchange Act. Based upon that evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures are effective at a reasonable assurance level in ensuring that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is (i) recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms; and (ii) accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosures. Management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving their objectives and management necessarily applies its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of implementing controls and procedures.
(b) Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022 identified in connection with our Chief Executive Officer’s and Chief Financial Officer’s evaluation that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
(c) Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. Internal control over financial reporting is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) promulgated under the Exchange Act as a process designed by, or under the supervision of, our principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, and effected by our Board of Directors, management and other personnel, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP and includes those policies and procedures that:
-Pertain to the maintenance of records that in reasonable detail accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of TJX;
-Provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP, and that receipts and expenditures of TJX are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of TJX; and
-Provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of TJX’s assets that could have a material effect on the consolidated financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of January 29, 2022 based on criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework 2013 issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (“COSO”). Based on that evaluation, management concluded that its internal control over financial reporting was effective as of January 29, 2022.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the independent registered public accounting firm that audited and reported on the consolidated financial statements contained herein, has audited the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of January 29, 2022, and has issued an attestation report on the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting included herein.

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ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
ITEM 9B. Other Information
Not applicable.

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ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
ITEM 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
The information concerning our executive officers is set forth under the heading “Information about our Executive Officers” in Part I of this report. TJX will file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) a definitive proxy statement no later than 120 days after the close of its fiscal year ended January 29, 2022 (“Proxy Statement”). The other information required by this Item and not given in this Item will appear under the headings “Election of Directors” and “Corporate Governance,” including in “Board Leadership and Committees,” and “Audit Committee Report” and, if applicable, “Beneficial Ownership” and “Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports” in our Proxy Statement, which sections are incorporated herein by reference.
In addition to our Global Code of Conduct, TJX has a Code of Ethics for TJX Executives governing its Executive Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President, Chief Financial Officer, Principal Accounting Officer and other senior operating, financial and legal executives. The Code of Ethics for TJX Executives is designed to ensure integrity in TJX’s financial reports and public disclosures. TJX also has a Directors Code of Business Conduct and Ethics which promotes honest and ethical conduct, compliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations and the avoidance of conflicts of interest. Both of these codes of conduct are published at tjx.com. We intend to disclose any future amendments to, or waivers from, the Code of Ethics for TJX Executives or the Directors Code of Business Conduct and Ethics within four business days of the waiver or amendment through a website posting or by filing a Current Report on Form 8-K with the SEC.

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ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
ITEM 11. Executive Compensation
The information required by this Item will appear under the headings “Compensation Discussion and Analysis,” “Compensation Tables,” “Director Compensation” and “Compensation Program Risk Assessment” in our Proxy Statement, which sections are incorporated herein by reference.

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ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS
ITEM 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters
The information required by this Item will appear under the headings “Equity Compensation Plan Information” and “Beneficial Ownership” in our Proxy Statement, which sections are incorporated herein by reference.

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ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS
ITEM 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence
The information required by this Item will appear under the heading “Corporate Governance,” including in “Transactions with Related Persons” and “Board Independence,” in our Proxy Statement, which section is incorporated herein by reference.

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ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES
ITEM 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services
The information required by this Item will appear under the headings “Audit Committee Report” and “Auditor Fees” in our Proxy Statement, which sections are incorporated herein by reference.
PART IV

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ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
ITEM 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedule
(a) FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULE
For a list of the consolidated financial information `included herein, see Index to the Consolidated Financial Statements on page.
Schedule II - Valuation and Qualifying Accounts
In millions Balance Beginning of Period Amounts Charged to Net Income Write-Offs Against Reserve Balance End of
Period
Sales Return Reserve:
Fiscal Year Ended January 29, 2022
$ 168 $ 5,627 $ 5,653 $ 142
Fiscal Year Ended January 30, 2021
$ 109 $ 3,530 $ 3,471 $ 168
Fiscal Year Ended February 1, 2020
$ 104 $ 4,862 $ 4,857 $ 109
(b) EXHIBITS
Listed below are all exhibits filed as part of this report. Some exhibits are filed by the Registrant with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 12b-32 under the Exchange Act.
Incorporate by Reference
Exhibit No. Description Form Exhibit No. Filing
Date
3(i).1 Fifth Restated Certificate of Incorporation
10-K 3(i).1 4/3/2019
3(ii).1 By-laws of TJX, as amended
8-K 3.1 2/5/2018
4.01 Indenture between TJX and U.S. Bank National Association dated as of April 2, 2009 (File No. 333-158360)
S-3 4.1 4/2/2009
4.02 Third Supplemental Indenture dated as of May 2, 2013 by and between TJX and U.S. Bank National Association, as Trustee, including the form of Global Note attached as Annex A thereto
8-K 4.2 5/2/2013
4.03 Fourth Supplemental Indenture dated as of June 5, 2014 by and between TJX and U.S. Bank National Association, as Trustee, including the form of Global Note attached as Annex A thereto
8-K 4.2 6/5/2014
4.04 Indenture between TJX and U.S. Bank National Association dated September 12, 2016
8-K 4.1 9/12/2016
4.05 First Supplemental Indenture dated as of September 12, 2016 by and between TJX and U.S. Bank National Association, as Trustee, including the form of Global Note attached as Annex A thereto
8-K 4.2 9/12/2016
4.06 Indenture dated as of April 1, 2020 between The TJX Companies, Inc. and U.S. Bank National Association, as Trustee
8-K 4.1 4/1/2020
4.07 First Supplemental Indenture, dated as of April 1, 2020 by and between TJX and U.S. Bank National Association, as Trustee, including the form of Global Note attached as Annex A thereto.
8-K 4.2 4/1/2020
4.08 Second Supplemental Indenture, dated as of April 1, 2020 by and between TJX and U.S. Bank National Association, as Trustee, including the form of Global Note attached as Annex A thereto.
8-K 4.3 4/1/2020
4.09 Third Supplemental Indenture, dated as of April 1, 2020 by and between TJX and U.S. Bank National Association, as Trustee, including the form of Global Note attached as Annex A thereto.
8-K 4.4 4/1/2020
4.10 Fourth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of April 1, 2020 by and between TJX and U.S. Bank National Association, as Trustee, including the form of Global Note attached as Annex A thereto.
8-K 4.5 4/1/2020
4.11 Fifth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of November 30, 2020 by and between TJX and U.S. Bank National Association, as Trustee, including the form of Global Note attached as Annex A thereto.
8-K 4.1 12/3/2020
4.12 Sixth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of November 30, 2020 by and TJX and U.S. Bank National Association, as Trustee, including the form of Global Note attached as Annex A thereto.
8-K 4.2 12/3/2020
4.13 Description of Registrant's Securities.
10-K 4.06 3/27/2020
10.01 The Executive Severance Plan effective September 27, 2018*
10-Q 10.2 12/4/2018
10.02 The Executive Severance Plan Participation Agreement dated September 27, 2018 between Carol Meyrowitz and TJX*
10-Q 10.3 12/4/2018
10.03 The Employment Agreement dated February 1, 2019 between Carol Meyrowitz and TJX*
10-K 10.03 4/3/2019
10.04 The Amendment to the Employment Agreement between Carol Meyrowitz and TJX effective as of January 28, 2022, filed herewith*
10.05 The Executive Severance Plan Participation Agreement dated September 27, 2018 between Ernie Herrman and TJX*
10-Q 10.4 12/4/2018
10.06 The Employment Agreement dated February 1, 2019 between Ernie Herrman and TJX*
10-K 10.05 4/3/2019
10.07 The Amendment to the Employment Agreement between Ernie Herrman and TJX effective as of January 28, 2022, filed herewith*
10.08 The Employment Agreement dated February 2, 2018 between Richard Sherr and TJX*
10-K 10.4 4/4/2018
10.09 The Executive Severance Plan Participation Agreement dated September 27, 2018 between Richard Sherr and TJX*
10-Q 10.6 12/4/2018
10.10 The Amendment to the Employment Agreement between Richard Sherr and TJX effective as of February 13, 2019*
10-K 10.10 4/3/2019
10.11 The Amendment to the Employment Agreement between Richard Sherr and TJX effective as of January 29, 2021*
10-K 10.09 3/31/2021
Incorporate by Reference
Exhibit No. Description Form Exhibit No. Filing
Date
10.12 The Employment Agreement dated February 2, 2018 between Scott Goldenberg and TJX*
10-K 10.5 4/4/2018
10.13 The Executive Severance Plan Participation Agreement dated September 27, 2018 between Scott Goldenberg and TJX*
10-Q 10.5 12/4/2018
10.14 The Amendment to the Employment Agreement between Scott Goldenberg and TJX effective as of February 13, 2019*
10-K 10.13 4/3/2019
10.15 The Amendment to the Employment Agreement between Scott Goldenberg and TJX effective as of January 29, 2021*
10-K 10.13 3/31/2021
10.16 The Employment Agreement dated February 2, 2018 between Kenneth Canestrari and TJX*
10-K 10.6 4/4/2018
10.17 The Executive Severance Plan Participation Agreement dated September 27, 2018 between Kenneth Canestrari and TJX*
10-Q 10.7 12/4/2018
10.18 The Amendment to the Employment Agreement between Kenneth Canestrari and TJX effective as of February 13, 2019*
10-K 10.16 4/3/2019
10.19 The Amendment to the Employment Agreement between Kenneth Canestrari and TJX effective as of January 29, 2021*
10-K 10.17 3/31/2021
10.20 The Stock Incentive Plan (2013 Restatement)*
10-Q 10.1 5/31/2013
10.21 The First Amendment to the Stock Incentive Plan (2013 Restatement) effective as of June 7, 2016*
10-Q 10.1 8/26/2016
10.22 The Second Amendment to the Stock Incentive Plan (2013 Restatement) effective as of January 29, 2017*
10-K 10.8 3/28/2017
10.23 The Third Amendment to the Stock Incentive Plan (2013 Restatement) effective as of November 6, 2018*
10-K 10.23 4/3/2019
10.24 The Stock Incentive Plan Rules for U.K. Employees, effective as of September 17, 2018*
10-Q 10.1 12/4/2018
10.25 The Form of Non-Qualified Stock Option Certificate granted under the Stock Incentive Plan as of September 20, 2012*
10-Q 10.1 11/29/2012
10.26 The Form of Non-Qualified Stock Option Terms and Conditions granted under the Stock Incentive Plan as of September 20, 2012*
10-Q 10.2 11/29/2012
10.27 The Form of Non-Qualified Stock Option Certificate granted under the Stock Incentive Plan as of September 19, 2013*
10-Q 10.1 12/3/2013
10.28 The Form of Non-Qualified Stock Option Terms and Conditions granted under the Stock Incentive Plan as of September 19, 2013*
10-Q 10.2 12/3/2013
10.29 The Form of Non-Qualified Stock Option Certificate granted under the Stock Incentive Plan as of September 10, 2014*
10-Q 10.4 12/2/2014
10.30 The Form of Non-Qualified Stock Option Terms and Conditions granted under the Stock Incentive Plan as of September 10, 2014*
10-Q 10.5 12/2/2014
10.31 The Form of Non-Qualified Stock Option Certificate granted under the Stock Incentive Plan as of September 17, 2015*
10-Q 10.1 12/1/2015
10.32 The Form of Non-Qualified Stock Option Terms and Conditions granted under the Stock Incentive Plan as of September 17, 2015*
10-Q 10.2 12/1/2015
10.33 The Restricted Stock Unit Award granted under the Stock Incentive Plan on January 29, 2016 to Ernie Herrman*
10-K 10.19 3/29/2016
10.34 The Form of Performance Share Unit Award granted under the Stock Incentive Plan as of April 1, 2019*
10-Q 10.01 5/31/2019
10.35 The Form of Restricted Stock Unit Award granted under the Stock Incentive Plan as of April 1, 2019*
10-Q 10.02 5/31/2019
10.36 The Form of Performance Share Unit Award granted under the Stock Incentive Plan as of March 29, 2021*
10-Q 10.1 5/28/2021
10.37 The Form of Restricted Stock Unit Award granted under the Stock Incentive Plan as of March 29, 2021*
10-Q 10.2 5/28/2021
10.38 The Form of Deferred Stock Award for Directors granted under the Stock Incentive Plan*
10-K 10.20 3/31/2015
10.39 The Form of Deferred Stock Award for Directors granted under the Stock Incentive Plan as of June 7, 2016*
10-Q 10.2 8/26/2016
10.40 The Management Incentive Plan and Long Range Performance Incentive Plan (2013 Restatement)*
10-K 10.22 4/2/2013
10.41 The General Deferred Compensation Plan (1998 Restatement) (the GDCP) and First Amendment to the GDCP, effective January 1, 1999*
10-K 10.9 4/29/1999
10.42 The Second Amendment to the GDCP, effective January 1, 2000*
10-K 10.10 4/28/2000
Incorporate by Reference
Exhibit No. Description Form Exhibit No. Filing
Date
10.43 The Third and Fourth Amendments to the GDCP*
10-K 10.17 3/29/2006
10.44 The Fifth Amendment to the GDCP, effective January 1, 2008*
10-K 10.17 3/31/2009
10.45 The Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan (2015 Restatement)*
10-Q 10.3 5/29/2015
10.46 The Executive Savings Plan (As Amended and Restated, Effective January 1, 2022) (the ESP), filed herewith*
10.47 The Form of TJX Indemnification Agreement for its executive officers and directors*(p) 10-K 10(r) 4/27/1990
10.48 The Trust Agreement dated as of April 8, 1988 between TJX and State Street Bank and Trust Company*(p) 10-K 10(y) 4/28/1988
10.49 The Trust Agreement dated as of April 8, 1988 between TJX and Fleet Bank (formerly Shawmut Bank of Boston, N.A.)*(p) 10-K 10(z) 4/28/1988
10.50 The Trust Agreement for Executive Savings Plan dated as of October 23, 2015 between TJX and Vanguard Fiduciary Trust Company*
10-Q 10.5 10/31/2015
10.51 First Amendment to 2022 Revolving Credit Agreement, dated as of May 10, 2019, by and among TJX, U.S. Bank National Association, as administrative agent, and each of the lenders party thereto
10-K 10.55 3/27/2020
10.52 Second Amendment to 2022 Revolving Credit Agreement, dated as of May 15, 2020, by and among The TJX Companies, Inc., the lenders party thereto and U.S. Bank National Association, as administrative agent.
8-K 10.1 5/21/2020
10.53 Third Amendment to 2022 Revolving Credit Agreement, dated as of November 24, 2020, by and among The TJX Companies, Inc., the lenders party thereto and U.S. Bank National Association, as administrative agent
10-K 10.58 3/31/2021
10.54 First Amendment to 2024 Revolving Credit Agreement, dated as of May 10, 2019, by and among TJX, U.S. Bank National Association, as administrative agent, and each of the lenders party thereto
10-K 10.56 3/27/2020
10.55 Second Amendment to 2024 Revolving Credit Agreement, dated as of May 15, 2020, by and among TJX, the lender party thereto and U.S. Bank National Association, as administrative agent
8-K 10.2 5/21/2020
10.56 Third Amendment to 2024 Revolving Credit Agreement, dated as of November 24, 2020, by and among TJX, the lender party thereto and U.S. Bank National Association, as administrative agent
10-K 10.61 3/31/2021
10.57 364 Day Revolving Credit Agreement, dated August 10, 2020, by and among The TJX Companies, Inc., the lenders from time to time party thereto, Bank of America, N.A., as syndication agent, U.S. Bank National Association, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as co-documentation agents, and BofA Securities, Inc., U.S. Bank National Association, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., HSBC Bank USA, National Association, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as lead arrangers and bookrunners.
8-K 10.1 8/11/2020
10.58 First Amendment to 364 Day Revolving Credit Agreement, dated November 24, 2020, by and among The TJX Companies, Inc., the lenders from time to time party thereto, Bank of America, N.A., as syndication agent, U.S. Bank National Association, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as co-documentation agents, and BofA Securities, Inc., U.S. Bank National Association, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., HSBC Bank USA, National Association, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as lead arrangers and bookrunners
10-K 10.63 3/31/2021
10.59 2026 Revolving Credit Agreement, dated June 25, 2021, by and among the TJX Companies, Inc., the lenders from time to time party thereto, U.S. Bank National Association, as administrative agent, HSBC Bank USA, National Association and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as co-syndication agents, and Bank of America, N.A., JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. and Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc., as co-documentation agents.
8-K 10.1 6/29/2021
21 Subsidiaries of TJX, filed herewith
23 Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm, filed herewith
24 Power of Attorney given by the Directors and certain Executive Officers of TJX, filed herewith
31.1 Certification Statement of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, filed herewith
31.2 Certification Statement of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, filed herewith
32.1 Certification Statement of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, filed herewith
Incorporate by Reference
Exhibit No. Description Form Exhibit No. Filing
Date
32.2 Certification Statement of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, filed herewith
101 The following materials from The TJX Companies, Inc.’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 29, 2022, formatted in Inline Extensible Business Reporting Language (iXBRL): (i) the Consolidated Statements of Income, (ii) the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income, (iii) the Consolidated Balance Sheets, (iv) the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows, (v) the Consolidated Statements of Shareholders’ Equity, and (vi) Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
104 The cover page from The TJX Companies, Inc.'s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 29, 2022, formatted in iXBRL (included in Exhibit 101)
* Management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.
(p) Paper filing.
Unless otherwise indicated, exhibits incorporated by reference were filed under Commission File Number 001-04908.