Off-price retailer TJX Companies has posted strong sales growth over the first quarter of this year. 

The company operates brands including TJ Max, TK Maxx, Marmaxx, Homesense and more, across nine countries.

TJX’s net sales rose by 5 per cent from $12.5 billion to $13.1 billion year-on-year, with a 3 per cent increase in its consolidated comparable sales.

“That TJX has produced pretty consistent growth across many different trading environments and variable conditions bodes well for the current turbulent period,” said Neil Saunders, MD of GlobalData. 

“If consumers become more focused on value for money, which they likely will if tariffs push up prices, it will drive more custom to off-price,” he said.  

The company’s net income for the first quarter of this year was $1.03 billion, down from $1.07 billion during the same period last year.

“Perhaps more worryingly, TJX has also noted it does face pressure from tariffs – flying in the face of a popular narrative that it is completely immune,” said Saunders. 

“In our view, it is certainly more immune because of its buying model, but as TJX also sources some products directly from brands and manufacturers, it will face cost increases which could be modestly dilutive to margins.”

TJX saw a fall in its pretax profit margin from 11.1 per cent to 10.3 per cent year-on-year. 

The company’s gross profit margin was 29.5 per cent, down from 30 per cent, due to negative mark-to-market adjustments on inventory hedges. 

Saunders stated that Marmaxx was expected to outperform the overall market as apparel prices in mainstream retail increase due to tariffs and off-price retail options become increasingly favourable. 

“Overall, TJX still looks like a winner and is set to make further gains in the year ahead,” he said.