The detail in retail!
We discover the inside secrets behind TK Maxx’s success...
Stepping inside a TK Maxx store, it’s a bargain hunter’s paradise, where you can find everything from a designer dress to a topbrand casserole dish at knock-down prices.
And the retail chain is certainly flourishing in the
UK, where it’s grown sales by 30% in the last 16 years.
This documentary shares with us many of the retailer’s secrets, from how they lure in customers to how they keep their prices so low.
‘On one level, it’s a bit like a department store but it’s laid out like a jumble sale,’ says Daniel Baker, a former TK Maxx senior merchandiser.
Pot luck
‘It’s a sea of stuff and you immediately have to get into the psychology of, “We’re here for a rummage.” You go in for pants and you end up buying some pink Himalayan salt.’
We hear how the labelling around the stores makes shoppers worried that they’ll miss out on bargains and how, to feed that fear, limited
amounts of each item are displayed at any time. ‘Many shoppers were in every day,’ says Jodie Evans, a former merchandiser for the chain. ‘They didn’t want to miss out. Get it now or it’s gone.’ The programme reveals that while shoppers assume that all of the stock in store is end-of-line designer products, a large percentage is actually own-label stuff or cheaper lines manufactured by well-known brands specifically for TK Maxx.
Despite the tricks of the trade, the chain continues to be a draw for eagle-eyed bargain hunters.
‘TK Maxx has captivated the UK audience in a way that no other retailer has in that space,’ says Dr Amna Khan, consumer behaviour and retailing lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University.
‘There isn’t another store in the UK that competes with it.’