Hasta La Creative!

Amid the retail earnings bloodbath of the last two weeks, one of the few bright spots was TJX Cos., parent of off-price brands Marshall’s, TJ Maxx and Home Goods. The Framingham, Mass.-based retailer reported a strong first quarter as consumers stocked up on discounted designer pillows and cut-rate Michael Kors bracelets. The company called out its marketing as a reason for such positive growth.

“We are very happy with our creative marketing campaigns at every division this spring,” said Ernie Herman, who was promoted to chief executive earlier this year, replacing long-time leader Carol Meyrowitz, on a recent conference call. He noted that recent traffic gains are a result of TJX’s marketing across all divisions.

Knowing that most shoppers appreciate a good deal, TJX has built a $29.1 billion retail empire around it. The company, which has nearly 3,700 stores in seven countries, has continually succeeded at a time when other retailersboth department stores such as Macy’s and Kohl’s and specialty stores like Gap Inc.are falling short. Such gains are partly due to the company’s discovery and destination store modelshoppers are eager to spend when it’s an ever-changing assortment of bargainsand also to its clever taglines and effective marketing campaigns.

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