See How UK’s TK Maxx Stores Compare to T.J. Maxx in the US

TK Maxx is the European sister company of T.J. Maxx. They’re both owned by TJX Companies.

Source: TJX Companies

It all began in Framingham, Massachusetts, in 1976 with T.J. Maxx, and the group of discount department stores has since grown to own brands like Marshall’s, Sierra, and HomeGoods. In total, TJX has more than 4,700 locations around the world.

TK Maxx arrived in the UK in 1994. It changed its name to avoid being confused with the UK-based discount department-store chain TJ Hughes.

Source: Insider

TK Maxx’s parent company calls the chain “the only brick-and-mortar, off-price apparel and home fashions retailer of significant size in Europe.” TK Maxx also has stores in Germany, Poland, Austria, the Netherlands, and Australia.

Source: TJX Companies

As of October, TK Maxx had just over 600 stores in Europe, while T.J. Maxx had close to 1,300 in the US. Insider visited a TK Maxx in northern England…

Source: TJX Companies

…and a T.J. Maxx in Wisconsin: Here’s what we saw while visiting two stores separated by both a single letter — and the Atlantic Ocean.

The city center TK Maxx in Leeds, northern England, was a vast store.

T.J. Maxx was similarly vast — larger than it would seem from outside — but well-lit and comfortably spaced.

In Leeds the focus was clear: Famous brands and heavy discounts. Signs throughout the space emphasized low prices and big names.

The store used slogans like “when it’s gone it’s gone” to create a notion of scarcity and push customers to buy quickly.

There did appear to be some great savings in the UK store. This Moncrief bag was labeled with a recommended retail price of £1,500 ($1,830), but was on sale for £249.99 ($305).

Meantime, a puzzlingly sparse display of cross-body bags stood across from an otherwise well-supplied array of purses and handbags at the US store.

Back at the UK store, clothes are sorted into categories like skirts, shirts, and dresses, and then displayed according to size. But if you find an item that you like that doesn’t fit you, it can be a bit tricky to know whether the store stocks it in other sizes.

The US store was similarly grouped, with color-coded collars on hangers and bar dividers delineating the sizes of women’s apparel on clearance.

The UK displays felt a little bit lackluster. Whereas other fashion stores may use things like fun signs, lighting, mannequins, plants, and furniture to jazz up their displays, TK Maxx seemed content to just let the clothes do the talking.

There were some non-clothing items dotted throughout the womenswear – and a selection of yoga mats and dumbbells among the sportswear.

Some of the apparel was also sorted into two specific ranges: Mod Box, which generally targets younger shoppers …

… and Gold Label, which was full of high-end clothes.

And woven throughout the store were rows and rows of clearance racks, too.

At some points, it was hard to tell which items were cheap because they were specifically being reduced to clear inventory versus ones that were cheap just because that’s TK Maxx’s selling style.

The section dedicated to shoes was huge, and featured brands including Adidas, Fila, Levi’s, Birkenstock, and Alexander McQueen.

But they too were sorted by size rather than item type, which meant that sneakers, heels, and rain boots were all jumbled together.

Most shoes were straight on the shelves, but some were kept in boxes, which seems a bit impractical for shoppers. Because of the way that TK Maxx sorts its items according to size, you have no idea what might be in the boxes until you open them.

Plus, there were plenty of staff actively putting items on shelves and racks, so it didn’t appear as though the bins were forgotten.

The one crowded area was in the bath section at the rear of the store, where several restocking carts had been shoved into a corner.

Some of the UK store’s lingerie section seemed a bit uninspired …

… though we did spot some very cute nightwear from a brand we’d never heard of.

There was also a makeup and beauty section. Some parts of this looked very neat …

… but the makeup display, in particular, was quite messy. Some of the boxes had been opened and some products had leaked onto the counter.

There were also lots of perfumes on sale, but because they were all in security boxes you couldn’t see what they smelled like. We didn’t spot any testers.

But we spotted some odd products, like this snail soap …

… and some boob lotion.

There were quite a few festive items from The Body Shop on sale, which surprised Insider reporter Grace Dean, who can’t recall seeing the brand’s items on sale in any third-party stores before. Other brands TK Maxx had to offer in its beauty and makeup section included Essie, Revlon, Wella, Elf, Maybelline, and Max Factor.

The luggage section at the US store was just to the left of the main entrance, and all departments were on the same level.

The kids’ section boasted a range of designer brands, like Balmain, Juicy Couture, Polo by Ralph Lauren, French Connection, and DKNY. There were also some items designed by Jessica Simpson – the first time we’d ever noticed her items on sale in the UK.

As ever, though, the food section proved to be the most enjoyable. It was host to a whole range of items, including pasta, tea, coffee, olive oil, cereal bars, and much, much more.