We know many of the shoppers who frequent TJX Companies ‘ off-price chains love treasure hunting. What entices them to keep coming back for all those discounted designer clothes and trendy home furnishings, however, is something less talked about and works even in tough economic times. According to UBS analyst Jay Sole, it is TJX’s strong relationships with 21,000 vendors around the globe that allow it to get the best deals on merchandise for its stores, which includes T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods. “For a lot of vendors, TJX is their biggest customer,” Sole told CNBC at last week’s UBS consumer and retail conference in New York City. “They want to grow with a company like TJX that’s winning and taking market share, especially if some of their other retail partners are losing market share.” Sole, who covers TJX, has a buy rating on the stock and a $151 price target. TJX benefits when retailers need to unload excess inventory to generate cash and mitigate losses. “A lot of public companies are aggressive on cutting merchandise in advance because they have to grow their earnings,” said TJX CEO Ernie Herrman during the company’s earnings call on Feb. 26. This trend has been intensified by a slowdown in consumer sentiment. The University of Michigan’s preliminary March index fell to 57.9 — a 10.5% drop from the prior month and a 21% decline year over year as Americans expect a higher rate of inflation within the next year driven by higher prices from tariffs imposed and threatened by President Donald Trump . While this presents challenges for retailers, it has created an opportunity for TJX’s buyers to secure high-quality inventory at better margins, an advantage that “tends to work pretty well for TJX,” Herrman said. TJX YTD mountain TJX Companies TYD Jim Cramer has long touted the TJX’s vendor relationships as a strength no peer can match. It’s one of the main reasons why it’s one of Jim’s favorite stocks to buy right now . During the March Monthly Meeting , he said store closures and high levels of excess inventory bogging down the likes of Kohl’s and Macy’s is what determines the stock’s upward trajectory. Shares of TJX have lost more than 5% year-to-date — a little worse than the broader market but much better than the basket of retail stocks in the XRT exchange-traded fund, which has dropped 13% in 2025. TJX is one of our 12 core portfolio holdings. We increased our price target to $140 per share after TJX delivered a better-than-expected quarterly report in late February. We kept our 2 rating . Secret sauce So how does TJX do it? As retailers offload excess inventory— a trend that’s accelerating as consumer confidence dives — TJX swoops in to buy the highest-quality stuff at cheap prices. These elements “tend to work pretty well for TJX,” Herrman said during February’s post-earnings call. TJX’s size also gives it more buying power and a negotiating edge over its off-price peers. The company posted $56.4 billion in net sales…
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