Just one month ago RIS reported on TJX’s plans to Launch New E-Com Site in Late Fall. It seems plans developed better than anticipated as T.J.Maxx quietly launched its e-commerce website on Tuesday, September 17, 2013, selling women’s clothing, accessories, shoes and handbags. The site is accessible on desktop, mobile and tablet and consumers can return most merchandise purchased online at any of the retailer’s more than 1,000 T.J.Maxx locations, or ship it back.
The retailer’s quiet debut was no surprise to some, as TJX wants to get it right and make it profitable. After its webstore didn’t take off eight years ago, TJX is starting slow and gearing up. The retailer has been working on the project for two years and previously stated the site would be up late fall, with no additional details prior to the site’s launch.
While the retailer hasn’t needed e-commerce as its annual revenue increased by more than $1 billion each year in the past 10 years (with the exception of 2009, when the economy plummeted), online will add value and an avenue to attract consumers that aren’t already shopping T.J. Maxx. “We also see it as a way giving customers the ability to shop 24/7 and when weather patterns may hold back the traffic to the stores,” said Carol Meyrowitz, CEO of TJX Companies on a call with analysts last month.
We can’t blame TJX for taking its time launching e-commerce. According to reports, the retailer gets products from more than 16,000 vendors, purchasing excess runs of designer goods and off-season fashions. As a result, inventory is an assortment of products in random sizes and colors, making quantities of a particular item hard to come by. To convert this inventory online is a time-consuming cycle of posting and pulling products.
Want to publish your own articles on DistilINFO Publications?
Send us an email, we will get in touch with you.
To help TJX overcome the hurdle, in December 2012 the retailer entered e-commerce with a $200M acquisition of Sierra Trading Post, an online clothing retailer that sells seconds, overstocks and closeouts.
“We have a very strong team at TJX that has been working on this,” said TJX spokeswoman Sherry Lang. “Certainly, the experience and expertise that Sierra brought to the company have been helpful.”
Date: September 23, 2013