Move to Germany proves profitable for US retailer

TJX Cos, the owner of T.J. Maxx and Marshalls stores, is targeting bargain-hungry shoppers in Germany, where Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Gap Inc met defeat, to introduce a designer-discount model to mainland Europe.

Germans, watching their purchasing power being eaten away by $8.90-a-gallon gasoline and a 3.1 percent jump in consumer prices in May, have been flocking to the eight stores that the largest US off-price retailer opened since October. The fledgling German operation, part of TJX's mainly British chain called T.K. Maxx, has been selling brands including Ralph Lauren and Adidas at a pace it took 14 years to reach in the UK, TJX said.

"There isn't anything like it in Europe," said Patrick McKeever, an analyst for research firm MKM Partners LLC. "Germany is giving the signal that this concept might be able to go throughout Europe."