Popular retail chain makes major store opening announcement

It's been a tough several years to operate in the retail industry. 

And even if you aren't the most robust shopper, you may have noticed some changes at your favorite local store. 

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For instance, many retailers now prioritize shoppers who prefer to order and pay for their items ahead of time online or on an app, then pick up those goods at a curbside or pickup location. Retailers prioritize these customers because they're a guaranteed sale. 

And many customers prioritize retailers that offer this option because it's quick and convenient. 

Many customers are also increasingly price sensitive. 

Fewer shoppers are remaining loyal to their favorite brands or shops, simply because they've always gone there. 

Instead, they're prioritizing the stores that offer the best value and price points, which often means going to a big box store that has pricing power. 

Many items are more expensive

It's understandable why so many shoppers are price-sensitive. 

The most recent Consumer Price Index for February shows that prices rose 0.5% overall compared to just one month prior. 

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This rate of change puts the yearly inflation rate at 3%, which is slightly more than where analysts expected the annual rate to come in at.

Here's a look at how some core goods and services changed over the past month:

• Food: increase 0.5%
• Energy: increase 1.1%
• Fuel oil: increase 6.2%
• New vehicles: unchanged
• Used vehicles: increase 2.2%
• Apparel: decrease 1.4%
• Shelter: increase 0.4%
• Transportation services: increase 1.8%
• Medical care commodities: increase 1.2%

TJX makes major store announcement

Since many customers are looking to save money on everything from clothes to cars, it makes sense that they'd shop at the stores that give them the best value. 

One such retail chain that consistently offers goods at lower price points is TJX, which owns several brands including TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Sierra (formerly Sierra Trading Post), and HomeGoods. 

Many of these stores sell brand name goods like apparel and furniture at discount prices, often because they're overstock or goods left over from a previous season. 

The retail chain, which just reported Q4 2025 earnings, saw net sales lift 5% to $16.4 billion compared to the same period one year ago.

And it's not planning on slowing down anytime soon. 

CEO Ernie Herrman told analysts that he expects to increase store footprint by at least 90 additional locations in the mid to near term. 

"This now reflects the long term potential for HomeGoods to expand to 1,800 stores, Sierra to expand to three twenty five stores and our base in Spain to grow to 100 stores," he said on the earnings call. 

It also intends to open about 90 new stores just this year. Here's what that breakdown looks like: 

• MarMax (Marshalls & TJ Maxx): 40
• HomeGoods (including HomeSense): 30
• Sierra: 20

TJX also plans to relocate about 40 stores and renovate about 500. 

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