The TJX Companies, Inc. Reports Significant 6% December 2012 Comp Sales Increase on Top of 8% Increa

The TJX Companies, Inc. Reports Significant 6% December 2012 Comp Sales Increase on Top of 8% Increase Last Year; Raises Fourth Quarter and Full Year EPS Outlook

FRAMINGHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYS: TJX) today reported December 2012 sales results. Sales for the five-week period ended December 29, 2012, were $3.6 billion, up 10% over the $3.3 billion achieved during the five-week period ended December 31, 2011. For the 48-week period ended December 29, 2012, sales reached $23.9 billion, a 10% increase over the $21.8 billion achieved in the same period last year. Consolidated comparable store sales for the five-week period ended December 29, 2012, increased 6% over an 8% increase last year. For the 48-week, year-to-date period, consolidated comparable store sales increased 7% over the same period last year.

Carol Meyrowitz, Chief Executive Officer of The TJX Companies, Inc., stated, "I am delighted to see that once again, consumers responded extremely well to our exciting selection of branded, giftable merchandise at excellent values, leading to our December comp sales increase of 6%. This comp increase significantly exceeded our expectations and was achieved over an 8% increase last year. Our December sales underscore that value remains top of mind for consumers and that our ability to offer extreme values during a promotional holiday selling season continues to be one of our key strengths. Once again, customer traffic drove the comp increases at all divisions for the month and importantly, we are confident that we will keep our new and already loyal customers coming back in the new year and beyond. With strong sales and margins in December, we are raising our outlook for fourth quarter earnings per share to be in the range of $.77-$.78, a 24%-26% increase over last year. For the full year, we are raising our guidance and now expect earnings per share to be in the range of $2.50-$2.51, representing 20-plus percent growth over last year for our $25 billion-plus Company. As we look ahead in 2013 and beyond, we are confident in our continued ability to drive strong growth in our brick-and-mortar business and are excited to see how e-commerce can offer us even greater advantage."

About The TJX Companies, Inc.

The TJX Companies, Inc. is the leading off-price retailer of apparel and home fashions in the U.S. and worldwide. The Company operates 1,039 T.J. Maxx, 912 Marshalls, 416 HomeGoods and 4 Sierra Trading Post stores as well as SierraTradingPost.com in the United States; 222 Winners, 88 HomeSense, and 14 Marshalls stores in Canada; and 344 T.K. Maxx and 24 HomeSense stores in Europe. TJX's press releases and financial information are also available at www.tjx.com.

December and January Fiscal 2013 Sales Recorded Calls

A recorded message with more detailed information regarding TJX's December 2012 sales, operations and business trends is available at www.tjx.com, or by calling (703) 736-7248 through Thursday, January 10, 2013. The Company expects to release its January 2013 sales on Thursday, February 7, 2013, at approximately 8:15 a.m. ET. Concurrent with that press release, a recorded message with more detailed information regarding TJX's January sales, operations and business trends will be available at www.tjx.com, or by calling (703) 736-7248 through Thursday, February 14, 2013.

Important Information at Website

The Company's recorded messages and conference calls are available at www.tjx.com after they are no longer available by telephone. The Company routinely posts information that may be important to investors in the Investor Information section at www.tjx.com. The Company encourages investors to consult that section of its website regularly.

Forward-looking Statement

SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995: Various statements made in this release are forward-looking and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. All statements that address activities, events or developments that we intend, expect or believe may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. The following are some of the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements: buying and inventory management; operational expansion and management of large size and scale; customer trends and preferences; market, banner, geographic and category expansion; marketing, advertising and promotional programs; competition; personnel recruitment and retention; global economic conditions and consumer spending; data security; information systems and technology; seasonal influences; adverse or unseasonable weather; serious disruptions and catastrophic events; corporate and banner reputation; merchandise quality and safety; international operations; merchandise importing; commodity pricing; foreign currency exchange rates; fluctuations in quarterly operating results; market expectations; acquisitions and divestitures and the success of transitions; compliance with laws, regulations and orders; changes in laws and regulations; outcomes of litigation, legal matters and proceedings; tax matters; real estate activities; cash flow and other factors that may be described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We do not undertake to publicly update or revise our forward-looking statements even if experience or future changes make it clear that any projected results expressed or implied in such statements will not be realized.

The TJX Companies, Inc.
Sherry Lang
Senior Vice President
Global Communications
(508) 390-2323

KEYWORDS: United States North America Massachusetts

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:

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