iStock.com/JHVEPhoto
The RIM Shopping Center will soon become only the second retail complex to house all five of TJX Cos.’ U.S. banners, with Marshalls and Sierra locations opening in the third quarter.
The complex already has a combined HomeGoods/TJ Maxx store that occupies 52,097 square feet and a 25,000-square-foot Homesense. Overall, TJX will control 126,674 square feet of RIM’s 1.2 million square feet of retail space.
Big V Property Group, the owner of The RIM, referred to the opening of all five TJX concepts in one space as a “throwback to retail real estate history,” citing past moves by The Limited Inc. and The Gap Inc. to open several concepts in the same enclosed malls. Big V said, “The same strategy is taking place at premier open-air properties.”
TJX competitors at the shopper center include Nordstrom Rack, Saks Off Fifth, Old Navy, and World Market.
TJX has long claimed that its concepts don’t cannibalize each other.
Among its apparel-focused banners, TJX said in its 2024 annual report that TJ Maxx and Marshalls are differentiated through “an expanded assortment of jewelry and accessories and a high-end designer department called The Runway at TJ Maxx and a full line of footwear and a broader men’s offering at Marshalls, as well as varying in-store initiatives.”
Sierra emphasizes active and outdoor apparel and footwear and includes sports gear.
Homesense, according to the report, complements HomeGoods by “offering a differentiated mix and expanded departments, such as large furniture, ceiling lighting, rugs, and an entertaining marketplace.”
TJX, which closed 2024 with 5,085 locations, earlier this year raised its long-term store potential to 7,000. The growth plan includes continued aggressive expansion of its U.S. concepts, supported by the opening of smaller stores in urban centers to reach new markets, as well as fill-in locations in existing markets where some cannibalization could occur.
When asked on the company’s fourth-quarter analyst call about how differentiated TJX’s concepts are, CEO Ernie Herrman said Homesense has opened stores next to HomeGoods “with minimal transfer sales and in some cases, have actually increased our sales.”
He also noted that a shopper center near TJX’s headquarters in Framingham, Massachusetts, has all five banners and the stores “all work extremely profitably.”
On the call, Herrman also noted that a key differentiator for TJX across banners is its flexible business models that let it buy close to need and its “rapidly changing assortment” that supports treasure hunt shopping. He said, “Our stores receive multiple deliveries a week of fresh branded merchandise to surprise and excite our customers.”