Edmond English, President and Chief Executive Officer of The TJX Companies, Inc. stated, "We are very pleased that December sales came in significantly higher than last year and well above our expectations. We attribute our performance to the continued excellent execution of our off-price concept which includes maintaining great liquidity in our inventory position and taking full advantage of opportunities in the marketplace. Throughout the month, we shipped fresh merchandise at exciting values which fueled sales. Further, we achieved these above-plan sales without sacrificing margins, despite the highly promotional retail environment that prevailed throughout the month. As a result, we are now anticipating earnings per share in the fourth quarter to be $.58, an increase of 21% over last year."
The TJX Companies, Inc. is the leading off-price retailer of apparel and home fashions in the U.S. and worldwide. The Company operates 688 T.J. Maxx, 582 Marshalls, 112 HomeGoods and 45 A.J. Wright stores in the United States. In Canada, the Company operates 131 Winners and 7 HomeSense stores, and in Europe, 101 T.K. Maxx stores. TJX's press releases and financial information are also available on the Internet at www.tjx.com.
A recorded message with more detailed information regarding TJX's December sales results and its business is available by calling (703) 736-7248 or via the Internet at www.tjx.com. The sales recording will remain available via the phone and Internet through Thursday, January 17, 2002. TJX expects to release its January 2002 sales results on Thursday, February 7, 2002 at approximately 8:15 a.m. EST. Concurrent with the press release, a recorded message with more detailed information regarding TJX's January sales results and its business will be available by calling (703) 736-7248 or via the Internet at www.tjx.com. The sales recording will remain available via the phone and Internet through Thursday, February 14, 2002.
SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995: Certain statements contained in this report are forward-looking and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are the following: general economic conditions including affects of terrorist incidents and military actions and consumer demand and preferences; weather patterns in areas where we have concentrations of stores; competitive factors, including pressure from pricing and promotional activities of competitors; the impact of excess retail capacity and the availability of desirable store and distribution center locations on suitable terms; recruiting quality sales associates; the availability, selection and purchasing of attractive merchandise on favorable terms; potential disruptions in supply and duties, tariffs and quotas on imported merchandise, as well as economic and political problems in countries from which merchandise is imported; currency and exchange rate factors in our foreign operations; expansion of our store base, development of new businesses and application of our off-price strategies in foreign countries; our acquisition and divestiture activities; our ultimate liability with respect to leases relating to discontinued operations including indemnification and other factors affecting or mitigating our liability; and other factors that are or may be described in the Company's 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 therein will not be realized.
