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Here’s the Simple Reason Why T.J. Maxx Is Called T.K. Maxx in Europe

Mia Nakaji Monnier
Mia Nakaji Monnier
Mia Nakaji Monnier is a freelance writer and former weekend editor at Apartment Therapy. She lives in Los Angeles and spends most of her free time knitting.
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Sofia Rivera
Sofia RiveraAssociate Lifestyle Editor at Apartment Therapy
The first thing I ever said I wanted to be when I was young was an interior designer. But, after years of waiting by the mailbox for my favorite magazines and seizing every opportunity to write, I decided to pursue journalism. I started my career at Boston magazine, before pivoting into strategic communications, and coming back to journalism when I joined Apartment Therapy in 2022 — the perfect union of my childhood dream and adulthood passion. I edit the Life section, covering wellness, money, career, small-space living, mental health, and all the items, habits, hacks, and pro tips that can help you level up your life at home. I love peeling back the curtain on the myriad fascinating ways people live at home, and relish writing and editing narrative essays, special content packages, and stories that answer that question you’ve always had. When I’m not editing a feature or chasing a hot tip about how to live your best life at home, you can find me rearranging my furniture, perusing a local bookstore (even though I’ve run out of shelf space), writing a newsletter about overthinking pop culture, or taking a veryyy long walk around the city.
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updated Sep 2, 2024
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In the United States, T.J. Maxx is synonymous with hunting for hidden gems, like chic organizing baskets and marble trays, amid an always-changing mix of random items. In Europe, there’s one small but major difference: There, the store is called T.K. Maxx.

Okay, so what’s the difference between T.J. Maxx and T.K. Maxx? In short, they’re the same. Their logos look the same, they share the same concept (selling deeply discounted goods from department store brands), and they’re part of the same parent company, called TJX Companies. 

In terms of what you’ll find within the stores, the wares are pretty much the same, including a (sometimes organized, sometimes chaotic) mix of clothing, decor, skincare and beauty products, jewelry, bags and luggage, and homeware. Business Insider took a close look at the T.K. Maxx vs. T.J. Maxx question to see if there were any meaningful differences by visiting a location in Leeds, England, and Indianapolis, Indiana. In the end, while the exact items they carry differ (as is true from one T.J. Maxx to the next, too), they were strikingly similar. 

So why the different names?

First, a brief history. T.J. Maxx opened in 1977 with two locations in Massachusetts (Auburn and Worcester), according to the TJX Companies website. Over the next 15 years, the store expanded through the U.S. and into Canada, and sprouted into sister brand, HomeGoods. In 1994, T.J. Maxx reached the United Kingdom and Ireland, where it opened as T.K. Maxx.

According to Wales Online, there was already a discount store operating in the U.K. at the time, called TJ Hughes. (It’s still around, in fact, although it’s much smaller than its competitor, with 24 total locations around the U.K., according to Business Insider.) In order to avoid confusion, T.J. Maxx became T.K. Maxx, which it remains across Europe today.

Although the real reason for their different names is simple, it’s still fun to entertain other possibilities. When the question came up on Quora, one commenter named Stewart Thompson gave this answer (before citing the actual TJ Hughes story):

“TK is [TJ’s] younger brother … or it could be that both TJ and TK come from a long family line of Maxx’s that all own chains in different countries? TA through to TG retired some time ago … ”

When we see the opening of T.L. Maxx, we’ll know the takeover attempt has really begun.

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