The TJX Companies, Inc. Reports September 2005 Sales; Announces Exit from E-Commerce Business; Updates Earnings Outlook for Second Half of 2005

Sales for the five-week period ended October 1, 2005, were $1.5billion, up 6% over $1.4 billion achieved during the five-week periodended October 2, 2004. For the 35 weeks ended October 1, 2005, salesreached $10.0 billion, a 7% increase over last year's $9.3 billion.Consolidated comparable store sales for the five-week period endedOctober 1, 2005, were flat versus last year. For the 35-week,year-to-date period, consolidated comparable store sales increased 2%over last year.

Bernard (Ben) Cammarata, Chairman, and Acting President and ChiefExecutive Officer, of The TJX Companies, Inc. stated, "September salestrends were softer than we had expected. We attribute this largely towhat we believe was consumer malaise in the aftermath of thehurricanes, as well as the negative impact of unseasonably warmweather in the Northeast, Midwest and Canada on the demand for fallfashions.

"On a broader level, having recently taken on the role of ActingCEO, I intend to lead our great and fundamentally strong Company tothe success I know we can achieve. To this end, I have set profitabletop-line growth as our highest priority. In order to accomplish thisgoal, there are three major areas on which we are focusing: furtherstrengthening execution in our merchandising organization, addressingthe positioning and business strategies of three of our smallerdivisions, namely A.J. Wright, HomeGoods and Bob's Stores, andnarrowing our overall focus. We have already taken a major step inadding merchandising creativity to our Company, as well as strongleadership and operational talent, by naming Carol Meyrowitz Presidentof The TJX Companies, which we announced separately today."

Cammarata continued, "There are several specific actions we areannouncing today. First, we have decided to exit our e-commercebusiness, as it has not delivered the sales we had planned, andpre-tax operating losses are projected to be approximately $15 millionfor the current fiscal year. Exiting this business will eliminatethese losses going forward and allow us to better focus our energiesinto other areas. Second, we have developed a new strategy for Bob'sStores, which we are in the process of implementing, and have anexpectation to cut its operating losses in half next year and be on aclear path to profitability. Finally, at A.J. Wright and HomeGoods, weare slowing real estate expansion and focusing growth on the types ofsites where we are having success today. I will provide further detailon these points on a conference call* with Wall Street analysts onTuesday, October 11, which will be webcast live for the public on ourwebsite, www.tjx.com."

The Company will be exiting its e-commerce business with theclosure of its www.tjmaxx.com and www.homegoods.com e-commercewebsites in October 2005. After October, these websites will continueto operate as marketing-only websites at their same, respective Webaddresses.

The Company has reduced its third and fourth quarter earningsestimates to reflect the softer sales trends, as well as the impact ofhigher fuel costs on expenses. We now estimate third quarter earningsper share to be in the range of $.36-$.38, which includes an estimated$.035 per share impact from one-time items to be recognized in thethird quarter. These items include estimates of hurricane-relatedexpenses, including the self-insured portion of property damage, lostsales, and costs incurred to assist our Associates, of approximately$.01 per share; exit costs and operating losses associated with theCompany's e-commerce business of approximately $.015 per share, and;the previously disclosed costs associated with the resignationagreement between TJX and Edmond J. English, its former CEO, of $.01per share. For the fourth quarter, the Company now expects earningsper share in the range of $.41 to $.43, reflecting a more conservativesales outlook for the quarter.

Cammarata concluded, "Although we have lowered our expectationsfor the third quarter due to several factors, and believe it isprudent to take a more conservative view of the fourth quarter, ourcore businesses and the off-price concept remain fundamentally verystrong and I am confident that, given our many opportunities, we willdeliver the excellent overall performance of which I know TJX iscapable."

The TJX Companies, Inc. is the leading off-price retailer ofapparel and home fashions in the U.S. and worldwide. The Companyoperates 788 T.J. Maxx, 709 Marshalls, 238 HomeGoods, and 148 A.J.Wright stores, as well as 35 Bob's Stores, in the United States. InCanada, the Company operates 170 Winners and 50 HomeSense stores, andin Europe, 190 T.K. Maxx stores. TJX's press releases and financialinformation are also available on the Internet at www.tjx.com.

September and October 2005 Sales Recordings

A recorded message with more detailed information regarding TJX'sSeptember 2005 sales results, operations and business trends isavailable via the Internet at www.tjx.com, or by calling (703)736-7248 through Thursday, October 13, 2005. The Company expects torelease its October 2005 sales on Thursday, November 3, 2005, atapproximately 8:15 a.m. ET. Concurrent with that press release, arecorded message with more detailed information regarding TJX'sOctober sales results, operations and business trends will beavailable via the Internet at www.tjx.com, or by calling (703)736-7248 through Thursday, November 10, 2005.

*Chairman and Acting CEO's Company Update Conference Call

At 11 a.m., on Tuesday, October 11, 2005, the Company will hold aconference call with stock analysts, in which Ben Cammarata, TJXActing CEO, will discuss his perspective on the business as he assumesthe role of Acting CEO, as well as the specific actions announcedtoday and business trends. A real-time webcast of the call will beavailable at www.tjx.com. A replay of the call will also be availableat www.tjx.com or by dialing (800) 819-5743 through Tuesday, October18, 2005.

Third Quarter Fiscal 2006 Earnings Conference Call

The Company expects to release its third quarter fiscal 2006earnings on Tuesday, November 15, 2005, before 9:30 a.m. ET. At 11:00a.m. ET that day, Ben Cammarata, Acting CEO of TJX, and CarolMeyrowitz, President of TJX, will hold a conference call with stockanalysts to discuss the Company's third quarter results, operationsand business trends. A real-time webcast of the call will be availableat www.tjx.com. A replay of the call will also be available atwww.tjx.com or by dialing (888) 667-5780 through Tuesday, November 22,2005.

Archived versions of the Company's recorded messages andconference calls are available at www.tjx.com after they are no longeravailable by telephone.

SAFE HARBOR STATEMENTS UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATIONREFORM ACT OF 1995: Various statements made in this release areforward-looking and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Allstatements that address activities, events or developments that weintend, expect or believe may occur in the future are forward-lookingstatements. The following are some of the factors that could causeactual results to differ materially from the forward-lookingstatements: our ability to continue successful expansion of our storebase; risks of expansion; our ability to successfully implement ouropportunistic inventory strategies and to effectively manage ourinventories; consumer confidence, demand, spending habits and buyingpreferences; effects of unseasonable weather; competitive factors;factors affecting availability of store and distribution centerlocations on suitable terms; factors affecting our recruitment andemployment of associates; factors affecting expenses; success of ouracquisition and divestiture activities; our ability to successfullyimplement technologies and systems and protect data; our ability tocontinue to generate adequate cash flows; general economic conditions,including gasoline prices; potential disruptions due to wars, naturaldisasters and other events beyond our control; changes in currency andexchange rates; import risks; adverse outcomes for any significantlitigation; changes in laws and regulations and accounting rules andprinciples; effectiveness of internal controls; and other factors thatmay be described in our filings with the Securities and ExchangeCommission. We do not undertake to publicly update or revise ourforward-looking statements even if experience or future changes makeit clear that any projected results expressed or implied in suchstatements will not be realized.