September 9, 2009
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News: TJX Pays Big Towards Breach
The headache continues for TJX, owner of major apparel and home fashion discount retailers including TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Winners, Home Goods, TKMaxx, AJ Wright and Home Sense. The company became the victim of one of the largest computer hacking cases in the world where more than 45 million credit card numbers were compromised. Just days after the alleged ringleader pleaded guilty to criminal charges relating to the case, TJX agreed to pay $525,000 in damages to AmeriFirst Bank, HarborOne Credit Union and Trustco Bank pertaining to losses resulting from the credit card theft. The payment will amount to a little over half of the monies set aside by TJX to cover the damages due to the credit card hoist.
TJX has not yet settled all the matters pertaining to the credit card theft which isn't a very pleasant thought; however, on a more positive note, TJX reported August same store sales were up by 5% from a year ago. Total company sales for the four week period in August were $1.6 billion; up 6% from $1.5 billion for same period last year. Year to date for 2009, the company's sales were $10.7 billion; up 5% from the $10.4 billion for same period last year. For this same period, TJX’s consolidated comparable sales were up 3% from same period last year. The numbers are better than expected for the major retailer and certainly a welcome contribution in the recovery efforts of the credit card theft incident.
TJX President and Chief Executive Officer, Carol Meyrowitz, acknowledges that although retail is tuff in the wake of a weak economy, traffic in their stores continue to be high. TJX were not the only victims of the massive credit card data heist; other victims included Barnes and Noble, BJ's Warehouse Club, Office Max, Sports Authority, Boston Market, DSW, and Forever 21. The total cost to the retailers has not yet been determined.