Much has been discussed in recent weeks regarding reported supply chain issues, particularly the impact this could have on product availability. This largely pandemic-era problem, according to a recent report, is also having having a noticeable effect on what’s on the shelves at discount stores like TJ Maxx.
Indeed, a CNN report mentions multiple brands—Ralph Lauren, Under Armour, Steve Madden, Carter’s, and Levi’s among them—as having stated in some form or another over the past few weeks that they are pulling back from discount-minded retailers.
And while offloading surplus at a discount or “off-price” retailer has always been viewed as the final option for brands in terms of turning maximum profit, recent events are said to have further complicated the relationship between these types of retailers and the brands themselves. In short, as the report in question lays out, selling pieces at full price is currently both the more favorable option from a brand’s standpoint and the most logical move given that there is simply not as much of a surplus to go around.
Complex has reached out to a rep for TJ Maxx for comment and will update this post accordingly. In a statement excerpted in the CNN report, a spokesperson for the company said that its store locations would continue to be “frequently updated with new and on-trend items” for shoppers.
Notably, at least for Ralph Lauren, this calculated pulling away from the off-price market (and department stores in general) has been part of an ongoing change that has spanned years. Back in 2017, for example, the brand said it would start pulling back products from “underperforming” stores at a rate as high as 25 percent. With these latest reports, it seems the more current supply problem has only exacerbated these approaches.
Speaking with CNBC earlier this month on the topic of supply chain concerns at large, Christian Bruch—CEO of Siemens Energy—argued that what people are experiencing in 2021 is a multi-faceted issue with which companies and consumers will be wrangling into next year and beyond.
