Tk maxx - what's the point?

[theclick]

The one near me and the one near my office only sells complete trash, no real "designer" wear and some of the clothes are so badly made but never priced below £40 a pop. The beauty section is ok but even that isn't worth it. They used to have nicer clothes that were easier to think - ok that's a steal.

I do like homesense and their home gear but the rest of it is trash.

[f33lingsad]

I bloody love a TK Maxx bargain. I've just moved to Munich and the one they've opened here is one of the key things keeping me here at the moment!

Had loads of designer bargains in the past, the branch in the City of London was great as was Clapham Junction - also another shout out for Putney, got a fave Viv W dress in there for about £60 that I've worn and worn.

Have mainly bought kids stuff so far in Munich, plus a Laundry dress - only cheapy polyester but fine for the colder months. I have a feeling the Muncheners haven't caught on to TK Maxx so much yet so I'm hoping all the best bargains will be mine.

I love the verb to go "TK Maxxing" as used by a poster upthread! that truly is my hobby

[Whatthefoxgoingon]

Yup I've found becksondergard scarves, lartisan perfume, raybans, aquascutum coats for very good prices. Worth a rummage sometimes, but if I can't find anything in the first 10 mins, I'm out!

[AmberNectarine]

Yep, good stuff is Vince, Theory, Helmut Lang, DVF, Equipment, premium denim, sunglasses etc. Brilliant for workwear. I only look at premium rails, regular stuff mostly tat.

Also brilliant for kids toys for parties.

[LanaorAna1]

Go for the posh stuff - it's all real, it would be illegal to fake it or do anything even remotely dodgy around big labels like Chloe and Viv Westwood.

TK gets Net a porter warehouse stuff delivered moments after, if not actually before, it hits The Outnet. But maybe that's just London - I don't know where the NAP warehouse is, that must be something to do with their stock distribution.

I get Vince and Theory for 30 quid rather than 200 quid, which in my book counts as a splendid bargain. Got the Rag & Bone dagger scarf, as seen in a million pap snaps, for 20 quid yesterday.

Just googled, for entertainment of MNetters, and seen MADONNA HAS MY TK MAXX SCARF. Ain't no one seeing that pic. :)

Amber I used to do Putney. Respect.

[ApocalypseSlough]

Thanks Amber

[AmberNectarine]

Kingston upon Thames, really good stuff in there!

Putney one also worth a browse.

[ApocalypseSlough]

Amber which one is that? Do tell- no one else will see!

[missmillimentscardigan]

Wow amber - that is great!

[AmberNectarine]

My local one is GREAT. My fave finds:

VW red label skirt - £30
Helmut Lang leather leggings - £100
Stella McC top - £50
Valentino rockstud sunglasses - £25
Herve leger dress - £200 (still on HL site for £1300)

Lots of the stuff in mine still has Net a Porter tags on. Wonder why it varies?

[theclick]

Never knew about own label clothing there but it now makes sense. As another person said I'm fed up of anything even remotely designer making its way to "gold label" which means a price tag of £300

[CallarMorvern]

I think they were called out on 'last season' being not last season, hence it not being there anymore.
Lots of big designers license out their name to any old crap, Pierre Cardin socks etc, which aren't labelled Pierre Cardin for x random sock manufacturer. But the labels don't help me anyway, I hadn't realised Clements and Rebeiro wasn't a random TJM brand😄 . But a bit of transparency wouldn't go amiss I guess.

[Floisme]

It shouldn't be up to the shopper to be 'savvy'. They should make it clear what you're buying.

Some of their own stuff is perfectly ok but just label it all 'TK Maxx' and stop with all the faux designer tags. Same with the designer diffusion lines: 'Clements and Rebeiro for TK Maxx': absolutely fine. You know where you are.

When I first started shopping there the designer/ high end stuff was always marked 'second' or 'last season'. They don't seem to do that any more.

I'm still a fan - just about - but all this pretense is an annoyance and makes me less inclined to trust them.

[missmillimentscardigan]

I don't feel cheated by it. It's good quality for the price and that's why I bought it anyway, not for the brand. By why not make it clearer which products are their own brand, rather than trying to pass them off as a separate, potentially more desirable, brand? Well, it's obvious why, of course, but I do think it's a little misleading.
Won't stop me shopping there though!

[CallarMorvern]

But why is it a swizz? A t shirt made from pima cotton, feels good quality and for only £7-99, you liked it until you realised it was a TJK brand, It wouldn't have been a brand you'd heard of anyway so why feel cheated? I don't get that.

[Mummyshortlegz]

If you buy what you like in materials you like and cuts that suit then brilliant. It doesn't matter who made it if it ticks the boxes. But you do have to make sure the price is compatible with that and not the label it might be.

[Geraniumred]

It depends if you like to buy labels or not. I mostly avoid them as I don't like advertising where I get my clothes from. A good quality t-shirt is still a good quality t-shirt.

[missmillimentscardigan]

Just checked the label of a navy t-shirt I bought in TK Maxx last week and it's got TJK on it. I bought it because it's Pima cotton and felt good quality for £7.99, not because it was a particular brand (think it was Arabella and Addison), but it's a bit of a swiz. I can't be the only one who didn't know they did this

[lasttimeround]

Hmm so since getting more into tk maxx in the last year I've bought:
Navy down fold away jacket. Nice no sheen very warm. Wanted one for ages but kept missing uniqlo sale. This was similar price to what I'd been hoping to score at uniqlo and missing 2 years in a row. Good buy.
Grey linen summer dress - one of those big baggy ones. Lots of wear this summer and fading beautifully the way linen should.
Apricot top - unfortunately possibly ruined this at a bbq. But it's silk and was cheap.
Navy long sleeve panel top - current fave washing beautifully for almost a year now. I've worn this most of all my tops this year.
Silver grey split back jumper - this one is a bit of a disappointment as I'm not liking the cut or colour on me entirely and I think the knit is stretching. Bad buy.
Big long waterproof padded coat - im not sure if this counts as a super buy or a mistake buy as I bought it for pram pushing only (lots of rain here and I was fed up of getting wet). Ended up wearing it all the time last winter as just so warm and dry and weather was beastly but it gets null points for style.
Steve madden sandals £15 quid. Gorgeous.
Paul Costelloe dress - grey black stripe. Unfortunately just too warm as its pure wool.
Calvin klein coat grey. Lovely v chic. Wool and silk fabric - probably a keeper for this year saving me almost 100 quid for other A/W items.

It's not primark prices. But I think I'm hitting around French Connection quality at FC sale prices. And my last full price purchase was an FC linen shirt at an eye watering 85 quid that I'm just not liking.

But garish it's not is it?

You cant plan purchases and need to just buy wirh a view to considering options and returning something later. If it weren't at my local sainsburys I wouldnt bother. But I have the odd check and have bought more from there than any other shop this year. I have very clear ideas of items I want/need so that helps.

[DelicatePreciousThing1]

As others have said it's like a nasty, all-colours-must-clash mammoth jumble sale. I just cannot be bothered. Didn't know about the own label cheating ( because that is what it is) but it doesn't surprise me. It's a dire experience.

[Bodicea]

I used to find all sorts but just can't find anything anymore. I thought
It was because I am more pressed for time these days but after
Reading this I see it isn't that.
Evan the baby stuff has gone down hill recently. With my first born I found all sorts of little gems. With my second I don't think I have found a single thing.
The only thing good these days is the homewear stuff. In fact even that is overpriced. I remember trying to get some nice Halloween decs for my sons party and balking at the price! £15 for a ghost garland.

[notanotherusername123]

I've never bought anything from tk maxx. It's just a jumble sale and I can't be spending hours going through every blooming rack to find a 'gem'. I've occasionally looked at the kids toys or clothes and every now and then I find a lovely item (hatley raincoats last time I went in) but they are always in the wrong size to what I need. I don't even like their home stuff

[MrBoot]

I think many people who shop there think they are the savvy ones but they can't all be or TKM wouldn't still be in existence.

[2kids2dogsnosense]

Homewares is good. I got my Dream Teapot there for only a tenner.

[dragonsarebest]

Ellie ...yes that's exactly my point, it's a mix. I think most shoppers are rather more savvy than they're being given credit for tbh.

[elliefredericksen]

dragonsarebest It's a mixture of all these things; end of line/last season mainline brands, TK Maxx own label, AND inferior quality brand names, which were never sold as a main line, or in the brands usual shops, but made specifically for outlet/TK Maxx sale.

The same lesser quality items are also sold in the brands outlet stores. If you go to Bicester or a similar outlet, there will be a sign in lots (not all) stores explaining that some items have been sold "exclusively" for outlet sale. But they won't explain that these items have been made to a lower standard of material and finish. It is these items TK Maxx sell. The problem is it is not clear to many shoppers who buy these items thinking they're getting the real deal at a huge discount.