Edmond J. English, President and Chief Executive Officer of The TJX Companies, Inc., commented, "With the unseasonably cold and rainy weather that prevailed throughout the entire month of May in most of the U.S. and Canada, comparable store sales came in below our expectations. That said, sales remained strong in regions where the weather was seasonable. Further, despite the miss in sales, inventories remain well controlled, leaving us solidly positioned to take advantage of the summer selling season. With the majority of second-quarter business still in front of us, we are waiting until we report June sales to update our earnings per share guidance for the quarter."
The TJX Companies, Inc. is the leading off-price retailer of apparel and home fashions in the U.S. and worldwide. The Company operates 777 T.J. Maxx, 700 Marshalls, 229 HomeGoods, and 143 A.J. Wright stores, as well as 34 Bob's Stores, in the United States. The Company also operates two e-commerce sites, www.tjmaxx.com and www.homegoods.com. In Canada, the Company operates 167 Winners and 47 HomeSense stores, and in Europe, 177 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 May 2005 sales results, operations and business trends is available via the Internet at www.tjx.com, or by calling (703) 736-7248 through Thursday, June 9, 2005. Additionally, the Company expects to release its June 2005 sales results on Thursday, July 7, 2005, at approximately 8:15 a.m. ET. Concurrent with that press release, a recorded message with more detailed information regarding TJX's June sales results, operations and business trends will be available via the Internet at www.tjx.com, or by calling (703) 736-7248 through Thursday, July 14, 2005. Archived versions of the Company's recorded messages and conference calls are available at www.tjx.com after they are no longer available by telephone.
SAFE HARBOR STATEMENTS UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995: Various statements made in this release are forward-looking and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. All statements that address activities, events or developments that we intend, expect or believe may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. The following are some of the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements: our ability to continue successful expansion of our store base; risks of expansion; our ability to successfully implement our opportunistic inventory strategies and to effectively manage our inventories; consumer confidence, demand, spending habits and buying preferences; effects of unseasonable weather; competitive factors; factors affecting availability of store and distribution center locations on suitable terms; factors affecting our recruitment and employment of associates; factors affecting expenses; success of our acquisition and divestiture activities; our ability to successfully implement technologies and systems; our ability to continue to generate adequate cash flows; general economic conditions; potential disruptions due to wars, natural disasters and other events beyond our control; changes in currency and exchange rates; import risks; adverse outcomes for any significant litigation; changes in laws and regulations and accounting rules and principles; effectiveness of internal controls; and other factors that may be described in our 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 in such statements will not be realized.
