Listen to this articleGrace Dean/Insider; Dominick Reuter/Insider
- Prince Harry said in his memoir he loves shopping at TK Maxx, UK’s answer to T.J. Maxx in the US.
- Both brands are owned by TJX Companies, which has more than 4,700 discount stores around the world.
- Insider visited a T.J. Maxx in Madison, Wisconsin, and a TK Maxx in northern England and despite the distance, found many similarities.
Prince Harry said in his memoir, “Spare,” that he loves shopping at TK Maxx, and he has previously been photographed visiting the discount fashion chain. Princess Kate, his sister-in-law, is also a fan of the store.
Prince Harry speaking in the Netflix docuseries “Harry & Meghan.”
Netflix
Sources: Insider, TK Maxx on Twitter
TK Maxx is the European sister company of T.J. Maxx. They’re both owned by TJX Companies.
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace Dean/Insider
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.
T.J. Maxx in Madison, Wisconsin.
Dominick Reuter/Insider
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.
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace Dean/Insider
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.
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace Dean/Insider
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…
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace Dean/Insider
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.
T.J. Maxx in Madison, Wisconsin.
Dominick Reuter/Insider
The city center TK Maxx in Leeds, northern England, was a vast store.
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace Dean/Insider
T.J. Maxx was similarly vast — larger than it would seem from outside — but well-lit and comfortably spaced.
T.J. Maxx in Madison, Wisconsin.
Dominick Reuter/Insider
In Leeds the focus was clear: Famous brands and heavy discounts. Signs throughout the space emphasized low prices and big names.
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace Dean/Insider
The store used slogans like “when it’s gone it’s gone” to create a notion of scarcity and push customers to buy quickly.
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace Dean/Insider
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).
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace Dean/Insider
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.
T.J. Maxx in Madison, Wisconsin.
Dominick Reuter/Insider
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 TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace Dean/Insider
The US store was similarly grouped, with color-coded collars on hangers and bar dividers delineating the sizes of women’s apparel on clearance.
T.J. Maxx in Madison, Wisconsin.
Dominick Reuter/Insider
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.
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace Dean/Insider
There were some non-clothing items dotted throughout the womenswear – and a selection of yoga mats and dumbbells among the sportswear.
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace Dean/Insider
Some of the apparel was also sorted into two specific ranges: Mod Box, which generally targets younger shoppers …
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace Dean/Insider
… and Gold Label, which was full of high-end clothes.
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace Dean/Insider
And woven throughout the store were rows and rows of clearance racks, too.
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace Dean/Insider
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 TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace Dean/Insider
The section dedicated to shoes was huge, and featured brands including Adidas, Fila, Levi’s, Birkenstock, and Alexander McQueen.
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace Dean/Insider
But they too were sorted by size rather than item type, which meant that sneakers, heels, and rain boots were all jumbled together.
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace Dean/Insider
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.
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace Dean/Insider
The US store had restocking bins standing throughout the store, but those were typically pushed well enough to the side so as not to interrupt shopping.
T.J. Maxx in Madison, Wisconsin.
Dominick Reuter/Insider
Plus, there were plenty of staff actively putting items on shelves and racks, so it didn’t appear as though the bins were forgotten.
T.J. Maxx in Madison, Wisconsin.
Dominick Reuter/Insider
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.
T.J. Maxx in Madison, Wisconsin.
Dominick Reuter/Insider
Some of the UK store’s lingerie section seemed a bit uninspired …
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace Dean/Insider
… though we did spot some very cute nightwear from a brand we’d never heard of.
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace Dean/Insider
There was also a makeup and beauty section. Some parts of this looked very neat …
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace/Dean
… but the makeup display, in particular, was quite messy. Some of the boxes had been opened and some products had leaked onto the counter.
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace Dean/Insider
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.
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace/Dean
But we spotted some odd products, like this snail soap …
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace/Dean
… and some boob lotion.
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace Dean/Insider
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 TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace/Dean
There was a whole host of electronics, too, including things like hair styling tools and hairdryers.
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace/Dean
Of course, there were a lot of items labeled as “final clearance,” too.
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace Dean/Insider
Several stands, like this one for accessories at the US store, had been pretty worked over by customers inspecting products.
T.J. Maxx in Madison, Wisconsin.
Dominick Reuter/Insider
The US store’s jewelry case, located near the dressing rooms, had a fairly thin selection of products.
T.J. Maxx in Madison, Wisconsin.
Dominick Reuter/Insider
The UK store also boasted a jewelry counter, next to some of the Gold Label displays.
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace Dean/Insider
An escalator in the UK store took you downstairs to men’s clothing, kid’s products, and homeware. Strangely, the first things you encountered when exiting the escalator were boxes of underwear.
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace Dean/Insider
They all had security tags on, too.
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace Dean/Insider
The men’s underwear section at the US store was similarly well organized, though it did not have the security tags seen in the UK.
T.J. Maxx in Madison, Wisconsin.
Dominick Reuter/Insider
The UK menswear section seemed relatively neat.
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace Dean/Insider
There were mirrors at the end of almost every rack of clothing, which made it easy if shoppers wanted to check if a color suited them or try on a jacket without heading to the fitting rooms.
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace/Dean
We spotted a range of brands throughout the store, including Superdry, Michael Kors, and Adidas. In particular, there seemed to be a lot of Alexander McQueen, DKNY, and Moschino items.
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace Dean/Insider
In one corner there was a big display of suitcases and travel bags, featuring brands like Guess, Juicy Couture, Dune, and Polo by Ralph Lauren.
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace Dean/Insider
The luggage section at the US store was just to the left of the main entrance, and all departments were on the same level.
T.J. Maxx in Madison, Wisconsin.
Dominick Reuter/Insider
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.
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace Dean/Insider
The store had an extensive homeware section – a bit of a surprise because it was located just yards from a Homesense store, which is owned by the same parent company and focuses solely on interiors. Some of the displays were very attractive …
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace/Dean
… including these cushions arranged by color. This was probably the neatest section of the store – likely because fewer customers browse through these items and move them around, unlike with clothes and shoes.
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace Dean/Insider
The fake-plants shelf at the US store was arranged especially neatly, with a nice eye for color and balance.
T.J. Maxx in Madison, Wisconsin.
Dominick Reuter/Insider
The UK store also had a stand of fake flowers near lots of candles and photo frames.
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace Dean/Insider
Considering there were some beautiful items up for grabs, it was surprising that TK Maxx chose to highlight a range of household cleaning products in one of its end-cap displays.
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace/Dean
The US store also devoted a surprisingly wide area in the center of the sales floor to displaying furniture and other housewares.
T.J. Maxx in Madison, Wisconsin.
Dominick Reuter/Insider
There were also some homeware items you probably wouldn’t think of coming to TK Maxx for, like an angle grinder, various fluids for cleaning your car, and some general cleaning products like drain unblocker.
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace Dean/Insider
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.
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace Dean/Insider
TK Maxx is the store to visit for a fun-flavored coffee syrup. Most UK supermarkets only carry a few flavors, if any at all.
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace Dean/Insider
Throughout this floor of the store, too, there were hundreds of clearance items …
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace Dean/Insider
… including many left over from Christmas.
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace Dean/Insider
Some of the items seemed unsellable – like this pile of makeup advent calendars, many of which had items missing.
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace Dean/Insider
In-season items, like these Valentine’s wreaths were prominently displayed in the US store ahead of the February holiday…
T.J. Maxx in Madison, Wisconsin.
Dominick Reuter/Insider
… along with Valentine’s kitchenware and pillows.
T.J. Maxx in Madison, Wisconsin.
Dominick Reuter/Insider
Seasonal candies and decor near the front register at T.J. Maxx
T.J. Maxx in Madison, Wisconsin.
Dominick Reuter/Insider
In the UK we spotted some books, too – hadn’t realized that TK Maxx sold fiction, but lo and behold, we found a collection of Oscar Wilde novels.
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace Dean/Insider
Some of the clearance sections were very jumbled, though.
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace Dean/Insider
The store also had some quite large, bulky non-apparel items, like these children’s toys. There was a mini ice-cream truck and a play tent.
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace Dean/Insider
The children’s toy selection in the US store was pleasantly full and varied without being cluttered…
T.J. Maxx in Madison, Wisconsin.
Dominick Reuter/Insider
… though it’s easy to imagine much of that ending up in disarray after a toddler or two have passed through.
T.J. Maxx in Madison, Wisconsin.
Dominick Reuter/Insider
Dean, who last visited the UK store around 15 months ago, found a marked improvement since then. “Compared to the TK Maxx stores I remembered growing up – which always seemed something like a yard sale with their collection of random items in random sizes – this store actually seemed pretty tidy.”
The TK Maxx store in Leeds.
Grace/Dean
All in all, the stores were strikingly consistent with one another, in spite of the distance and the letter.
T.J. Maxx in Madison, Wisconsin.
Dominick Reuter/Insider
Additionally, both locations appeared tidier and better stocked than we’ve seen from the brand in past years. No wonder Prince Harry is a fan.
T.J. Maxx in Madison, Wisconsin.
Dominick Reuter/Insider
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