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A global discount chain is about to disrupt our department store sector, with plans to open 35 stores in April under a business model unlike anything we’ve seen.
While shopping at local department stores is a fairly predictable affair, TK Maxx will bring its fast-changing product offering Down Under, in an approach that has been compared to H&M, Zara and Top Shop.
“They’ll have new styles coming into the store every week, so that as soon as consumers go in, they think they’d better buy the product now, because next week it might not be there,” IbisWorld retail analyst Lauren Magner said.
“It creates that scarcity effect and encourages consumers to buy on the spot. And they know there’ll always be something new and fresh.”
While mid-market department store Target is likely to be at the most risk, she says “no one is safe”, noting it has been years since a new competitor entered the sector.
The difference between TK Maxx and traditional Australian department stores is that “it doesn’t buy seasonally,” Ms Magner said.
“It buys constantly throughout the year with several deliveries per week and many products on the shelves — and no two stores are the same.”

Owned by American giant TJX Companies Inc, which operates the similarly named TJ Maxx in the United States, TK Maxx has department stores across Europe.
Parent company TJX has bought out Australian discount store Trade Secret and plans to convert its 35 stores to the TK Maxx brand.

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