Off-price retailers seem to find a way to thrive regardless of economic conditions. The pandemic, however, was an altogether different challenge. Burlington, Ross and TJX Companies are the big three, and since all of them conduct little to no e-commerce the lockdowns associated with the pandemic hit hard. Despite strong sales in the home goods category during the pandemic, apparel sales suffered.

In a story published August 30th by Senior Reporter Daphne Howland of Retail Dive, Howland sees a turning of the tide writing, “That’s now changed, though pressures remain. People are refreshing their closets as they return to work and events, and with stores open again, retail sales are on the rebound.

The off-price players are participating in that, but they’re not immune to the headwinds the industry is facing lately, either. Those include rising freight costs, constrained supply and choppy demand, along with rising uncertainty about the status of the pandemic due to the delta variant of the virus.” Howland explains the TJX Companies “is mostly upbeat about the future despite ballooning freight costs.”

Howland quoted TJX Cos. CEO Ernie Herrman saying, “Here is the ironic thing. I believe the disruption in the supply chain is going to create a future buying opportunity for us.”

Read the full story here: