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{{Short description|International discount department store chain owned by TJX Companies}}
{{About|the international brand|the American version|TJ Maxx}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2018}}
{{Infobox company
| name                = TK Maxx
| logo                = TK Maxx Logo.svg
| logo_size           = 
| image               = File:Right next door to J.D. Penny (5353215984).jpg
| image_caption       = TK Maxx in Prager Straße, [[Dresden]]
| type                = [[Subsidiary]]
| parent              = [[TJX Companies]]
| foundation          = {{Start date and age|1994}}
| locations           = {{ubl|Europe: 596
(2 May 2020)<ref name=sicom>{{cite web|url=https://investor.tjx.com/static-files/d7093ad3-4e81-4714-a4d0-0f0036c70cf4|title=The TJX Companies, Inc. FORM 10-Q}}</ref>|Australia: 56 (2 May 2020)<ref name=sicom/>|Total: 652 (2 May 2020)}}
| location            = [[Watford]], [[United Kingdom]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.tkmaxx.com/uk/en/contact-us | title=Contact Us Page - TK Maxx UK }}</ref>
| industry            = [[Retail]]
| area_served         = {{ubl|[[United Kingdom]]|[[Australia]]|[[Ireland]]|[[Germany]]|[[Poland]]|[[Austria]]|[[Netherlands]]}}
| products            = Clothing, footwear, bedding and domestics, furniture and giftware
| homepage            = {{URL|http://www.tkmaxx.com/}}
| founder             = [[Bernard Cammarata]]
}}

'''TK Maxx''' is a discount clothing and homewares retailer, founded in 1994. It is currently based in [[Watford]], England.

It is owned by American retailer [[TJ Maxx]], who could not trade under the initials "TJ" in the United Kingdom due to the British discount chain [[T. J. Hughes]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Freshwater |first=Paige |date=2023-10-19 |title=Shoppers only just realising why TK Maxx is called TJ Maxx in America |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/us-news/shoppers-only-just-realising-tk-31229313 |access-date=2025-04-05 |website=Daily Mirror |language=en}}</ref>

TK Maxx has since expanded across Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Poland and Australia, and also trades as [[HomeSense|Homesense]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=TK Maxx to open flagship in Melbourne CBD - Ragtrader |url=https://www.ragtrader.com.au/news/tk-maxx-to-open-flagship-in-melbourne-cbd |access-date=2025-04-05 |website=www.ragtrader.com.au |language=en}}</ref>

[[File:TKMaxxHomesensemetro.jpg|[[HomeSense]] and TK Maxx joint store in the [[MetroCentre (shopping centre)|MetroCentre]], Gateshead|thumb]]

==History==
In 1976, [[TJ Maxx]] was founded in [[Framingham, Massachusetts]], United States, by [[Bernard Cammarata]]. The first international store opened in [[Bristol]], UK, in 1994.<ref>{{cite news|last=Hoovers|url=http://www.answers.com/topic/the-tjx-companies-inc?cat=biz-fin|title=The TJX Companies, Inc|publisher=Answers.com|access-date=June 25, 2007}}</ref> The company modified the name to TK Maxx to avoid confusion with the unrelated British retail chain [[T. J. Hughes]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dOK64-6VFrIC|title=Strategic Retail Management: Text and International Cases|author1=Joachim Zentes |author2=Dirk. Morschett |author3=Hanna Schramm-Klein |publisher=[[Gabler Verlag]]|year=2011|isbn=9783834967404}}</ref>
Opening of stores in the Netherlands between 1999 and 2001 was not as successful as the company wished.{{Citation needed|date=May 2017}} The first store in Germany opened on October 4, 2007, in [[Lübeck]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tjx.com/businesses/europe/tkmaxx |title=T.K. Maxx |website=The TJX Companies |access-date=March 13, 2024}}</ref>

In 2007, TK Maxx began winding down new store openings in the United Kingdom. Focus was given to revamping or relocating older inner city stores.{{Citation needed |date=June 2024}} The company opened larger "Maxx Maxx" stores to attempt to move from a budget reputation and become more like a department store.<ref>{{cite news |title=TK Maxx opens in the Hayes |url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/fashion/tk-maxx-opens-hayes-2254076 |access-date=11 June 2024 |work=Wales Online |date=24 May 2007 |language=en}}</ref> In August 2008, TK Maxx opened a store on [[Kensington High Street]], [[London]], England, its first central London store, on a site formerly occupied by [[Habitat (retailer)|Habitat]].<ref>{{cite news |first = Marino |last = Donati |url = https://www.drapersonline.com/news/shoppers-queue-for-kensington-tk-maxx |title = Shoppers queue for Kensington TK Maxx |publisher = Drapers online |date= August 28, 2008 | access-date = September 11, 2009}}</ref> 

In 2009, TK Maxx was denied permission by the [[Crown Estate]] to open a store in a unit on its land at [[Piccadilly Circus]], London. In February that year, the company had signed a deal with the leaseholder of the unit, a {{convert|20000|sqft|m2|0|adj=on}} vacant site formerly used by [[Virgin Megastores]], with a rent of £1.55 million per year.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/hp/front/tk-maxx-not-posh-enough-for-west-end-6743705.html |title=TK Maxx 'not posh enough' for West End |last=Prynn |first=Jonathan |date=April 24, 2009 <!-- This is the correct date, the 2012 date on standard.co.uk is wrong --> |publisher=[[Evening Standard]] |access-date=March 13, 2024}}</ref> The Crown Estate rejected TK Maxx, saying it did not fit its upmarket development strategy for the area.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.retail-week.com/tk-maxx-not-posh-enough-for-piccadilly/5002111.article |title=TK Maxx 'not posh enough' for Piccadilly |last=Cooper |first=Ben |date=April 29, 2009 |publisher=Retail Week |access-date=September 16, 2009}}</ref> In response, publicist [[Max Clifford]] and ''[[Look (UK magazine)|Look]]'' magazine launched a campaign in support of a TK Maxx store on the site.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.retail-week.com/property/celebrities-back-tk-maxx-over-piccadilly-circus-store/5002326.article |title=Celebrities back TK Maxx over Piccadilly Circus store |date=May 1, 2009 |publisher=Retail Week |access-date=September 16, 2009}}</ref> A court appeal by TK Maxx against the decision failed.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.propertyweek.com/story.asp?storycode=3140810 |title=TK Maxx Piccadilly store court case brought forward |last=Duxbury|first=Nick |date=May 9, 2009 |publisher=Property Week |access-date=September 16, 2009}}</ref>

In March 2009, the TK Maxx [[e-commerce]] site was launched, initially selling only [[handbags]], but later also selling other accessories.<ref>{{cite news |first = James |last = Thompson |url = https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/discount-fashion-taking-it-to-the-maxx-1774064.html |title = Discount fashion: Taking it to the Maxx |work = The Independent |date= August 19, 2009 | access-date = September 11, 2009}}</ref> 

In October 2015, the first Dutch store opened in [[Eindhoven]] followed by more stores. In April 2017, the brand was launched in Australia, when it took over the thirty five [[Trade Secret (company)|Trade Secret]] discount department stores. The stores opened in April in [[Brisbane]], [[Sydney]] and [[Melbourne]] with stores in [[Cairns]], [[Townsville]], [[Toowoomba]], [[Canberra]], [[Newcastle, New South Wales|Newcastle]], [[Wollongong]], [[Albury]], the [[Sunshine Coast, Queensland|Sunshine Coast]] and the [[Gold Coast, Queensland|Gold Coast]] by the end of May.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2017/04/10/retail-giant-tk-maxx-is-launching-in-australia_a_22034503/|title=Retail Giant TK Maxx Is Launching In Australia|first=Leigh|last=Campbell|date=April 11, 2017|newspaper=Huff Post}}</ref>

In June 2023, the first store opened in [[Tasmania|Tasmania, Australia]] at [[Northgate Shopping Centre]] in [[Hobart]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-16 |title=TK Maxx opens first Tassie store in Glenorchy |url=https://hobartobserver.com.au/tk-maxx-opens-first-tassie-store-in-glenorchy/ |access-date=2023-09-22 |website=Hobart Observer |language=en-AU}}</ref>

==Charity support==
===United Kingdom===
In 2007 and 2009, TK Maxx in the UK was the sole retailer of [[Red Nose Day]] T-shirts, sales of which generated £2 million in 2007 and £3 million in 2009 for [[Comic Relief (charity)|Comic Relief]].<ref>{{cite news |url = http://www.rednoseday.com/partners/t-k-maxx/ |title = Red Nose Day Partners |publisher = Comic Relief |date= June 25, 2007 | access-date = June 25, 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070323114941/http://www.rednoseday.com/partners/t-k-maxx/ <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = March 23, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rednoseday.com/partners/tkmaxx |title=TK Maxx |publisher=Red Nose Day 09 |access-date=September 16, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090519082334/http://www.rednoseday.com/partners/tkmaxx |archive-date=May 19, 2009 }}</ref>

TK Maxx has been a supporter of the [[Woodland Trust]] since 2004, when it held a Christmas card recycling scheme in conjunction with the Trust.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Trust |first1=Woodland |title=Our Corporate Partners |url=https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/partnerships/our-partners/more-partners/ |website=Woodland Trust |access-date=11 June 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/en/support-us/company-supporters/corporate-partners/Pages/tk-maxx.aspx |title=TK Maxx and Woodland Trust working in partnership |publisher=Woodland Trust |access-date=September 16, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110101141626/http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/en/support-us/company-supporters/corporate-partners/Pages/tk-maxx.aspx |archive-date=1 January 2011}}</ref>
From August 2008, TK Maxx introduced charges on plastic carrier bags and donated the proceeds to the [[Woodland Trust]], which used the funds to plant 30,000 new trees on a {{Convert|15|acre|m2|0|adj=on}} site near [[Elmstead Market]], [[Essex]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Lake |first=Howard |title=Woodland Trust to plant trees with funds from TK Maxx carrier bags |url=https://fundraising.co.uk/2009/07/13/woodland-trust-plant-trees-funds-tk-maxx-carrier-bags/ |website=UK Fundraising |access-date=13 March 2024}}</ref> This was before the 2015 [[Phase-out of lightweight plastic bags#United Kingdom|phase-out of plastic bags in the UK]], in which charges became mandatory and are now frequently donated to charity.{{Citation needed |date=June 2024}} 

TK Maxx also runs a 'Give Up Clothes For Good' campaign, where customers are encouraged to bring in unwanted clothes for [[Cancer Research UK]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tkmaxx.com/uk/en/give-up-clothes-for-good |title=Give up Clothes for Good |website=TK Maxx |access-date=13 March 2024}}</ref>

===Ireland===
In [[Ireland]], TK Maxx actively supports [[Enable Ireland]], a charity which helps provide free services to children with disabilities.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tkmaxx.ie/enableireland.php|title=Give up Clothes for good - Enable Ireland - TK Maxx Ireland|author=Rob Le Boutillier|work=tkmaxx.ie}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery heights=130px mode=packed>
File:TK Maxx, The Headrow, Leeds 001.jpg|TK Maxx on [[The Headrow]] in [[Leeds]]
File:TKMaxxLondon1.jpg|TK Maxx on [[Gracechurch Street]], London
File:TKMaxxlondon2.jpg|Interior of TK Maxx on [[Gracechurch Street]], London
File:TK Maxx Amsterdam.jpg|TK Maxx on [[:en:Damrak|Damrak]], Amsterdam
</gallery>
== See also ==
* [[List of department stores by country#United Kingdom|List of department stores in Europe]]{{clear}}

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|TK Maxx}}
* {{Official website|http://www.tkmaxx.com/|name=TK Maxx official website}}

{{TJX}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:TJX Companies]]
[[Category:Arts and crafts retailers]]
[[Category:Retail companies established in 1994]]
[[Category:Clothing retailers of Australia]]
[[Category:Clothing retailers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Companies based in Watford]]
[[Category:Department stores of Australia]]