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.

[hiccupgirl]

Mine is very hit and miss.

I found £20 Supergas which I love and a couple of Kipling bags which I also love. And it's always good for socks and pants. But I never find anything really, really reduced.

[dragonsarebest]

It's totally hit and miss. I have three near me and they all have different stock and "specialisms". One is full to the rafters of TK Maxx own label clothes, one is brilliant for labels (and the heftiest discounts), the third is better for homewares and shoes.

Some of it it seconds, some of it is own label, but I think quite a lot (at least in my local stores) is excess stock from John Lewis/House of Fraser and I suspect ASOS, amongst other places. The claim that it's all defective fake stuff is just wrong.

[lasttimeround]

Calvin klein coat £89. Nice.

[lasttimeround]

Right size, good fit. I bought it. Will have a check if there's a different coat out there I prefer, in which case I will return it. Otherwise ta very much.

[JonahAndTheSale]

I like the online store.

I've just bought this bag

this scarf and these Vera Wang sunglasses

RRP prices better not be made up!

[EachandEveryone]

My Paul Costello bags always get admired.

[Geraniumred]

I like it - although I do prefer Homesense. My dd loves to get Converse trainers from there. I've had some lovely knitwear and a couple of coats. As someone else said it's also good for gifts. I don't mind the jumble sale atmosphere as I also like Charity shops.

[BestIsWest]

Umbrellas, scarves and kitchenware. Had a fab Joseph and Joseph breadbin for a tenner. Was £50 in JL.

[missmillimentscardigan]

Which are the TK Maxx own labels a pp mentioned? I didn't realise they had their own brands...

[QueenoftheAndals]

I think most of what they sell are brands owned by them.

[missmillimentscardigan]

Oh. I never knew that. So mainly their own brands with a few other bits thrown in?

[dragonsarebest]

The own label brand names vary - you can tell by reading at the fabric composition label. TK Maxx own labels will have TJX mentioned somewhere. That doesn't mean that they're poor quality, mind. The own label stuff doesn't usually have an RRP on the tag, just the actual sale price.

They're not in the Sports Direct league of selling owned brands though!

[SuckingEggs]

MrBoot, well a Neom candle or shower gel is just that... It's not a duplicate - that would obviously be illegal.

[DesolateWaist]

Ooh I didn't know they had a website.
Kitchen Aid Classic for £249!

www.tkmaxx.com/kitchen/white-multi-functioning-mixer/invt/85000276

[MrBoot]

Sucking Did you see the Despatches programme?

Items are out of season/discontinued products. I agree there is nothing wrong with that if you are happy to buy it. TKM make their own clothes and stick random price tags on them - 189 pounds now selling for 19 pounds. They are operating in much the same way as the outlets and as long as people ignore the random numbers they put on their price tags and pay only as much as they think the item is worth to them, that is also fine.

The troubling part of the programme said that the items being sold as 'genuine designer' brands aren't the same quality as the original item. For example, a particular jacket sold for 200 pounds now being sold for 30 pounds in TKM is because the original jacket's material is goosedown while the cheaper item is cotton.

This is worth a read.

www.channel4.com/info/press/news/c4-dispatches-unwraps-concerns-about-pricing-and-labelling-at-tk-maxx
TK Maxx emphasise that they Deal Direct with Designers.

Channel 4 Dispatches spoke to a former insider at the Nicole Fahri brand who used to produce versions of the designers diffusion line for TK Maxx until she left the fashion industry in 2009. (Since the insider worked there, the Nicole Fahri brand has changed ownership.)

She revealed to Dispatches that TK Maxx would get a bespoke line to fit their price.

The former production manager speaking about her experience up to 2009 explained that at every stage of the process they tried to save money and as a result it was basically a ‘different product’:

“Well, you work back the price… So if TK Maxx want to retail something at £10, then we know we’ve got to sell it to them at say £5…. in order to make the money that we need to make…and the money that TK Maxx needs to make, and then that is like the target price, that I work with all the different factories, someone’s got to hit that price for me to be able to make that garment…

“First thing we look at is fabric- because that’s usually the biggest cost within a garment – Then you look at the way the fabric is produced, you might look at ways of dying the fabric, that might be less expensive.”

The actual shape of the garment the pattern –- you can simplify the pattern a lot – and that will lower the amount of man hours going in at the factory… Yeah, everything is looked at – the way the garment is branded example - if there’s an embroidery on it you might change that for a printed logo…to save money…you might change some beautiful real shell buttons for some imitation shell buttons or some plastic buttons… It’s a different product basically.”

Since the insider worked there, the Nicole Fahri brand has changed ownership, and the current brand owners stress they do not and never have made products for TK Maxx, indeed they say they don’t make “cheaper level products” for any company whatsoever.

TK Maxx confirmed they were supplied bespoke Nicole Farhi products until July 2010. They told us they buy “from all types of ranges of goods made available… by brands…No-one is being misled…”./ They told us they deliver “high standards of value” and said “we strive to ensure that our customers are properly informed about the products they purchase from us./ Further we work closely with Trading Standards to help us to do the right thing for our shoppers”

[lasttimeround]

That's interesting mrboot and muddies the waters. My ck jacket has nice fabric and the tailoring round the waist is better than what I tried at m&s. So I'm pleased with that. Although some aspects of quality for me at least only emerge with wear and washing I can't tell when snapping up bargains at tk maxx

[Floisme]

I think Clements Ribeiro must also do knitwear especially for TK Maxx. It's perfectly nice and some of the colours are lovely but if that's designer quality then there must be a lot of mugs shopping in Harvey Nicks.

To be fair some of TK Maxx own labels can be quite good: Amphora stretchy cotton pencil skirts are in really nice prints and around £16 or £17, although now I think about it, I've not seen any this summer.

[CallarMorvern]

I love TKMaxx, we have limited clothes shops where I live and a lot of retailers don't deliver. It's fab to have a store with new stock every week. I've always known about the TJM brands, but if you are happy with an item and the price you have paid for it, does it really matter. All retailers use the reduced price game ( ie only for sale at the higher price in one branch, so they can put the mark down in every branch etc).
I buy Bodum and Scion homeware,, Ultrasun, Opi nail varnish, exercise gear, outdoor wear. I'm not a big label wearer, but my Converse and Birkis usually come from there.
I agree with the person who says it's sport not shopping though, but that's part of the appeal.

[dragonsarebest]

MrBoot Your argument doesn't make sense - stock cannot all be discontinued/out of season and simultaneously bespoke for TK Maxx/own brand. The reality of course is that it's not that cut and dried and there's a mix. Yes there are own brand labels, and yes I'm sure that there are some designers that produce stock exclusively for TKM (Clements Ribeiro and Cynthia Rowley stand out), but there is still a good amount that is 100% genuine, either exactly the same as you'd buy from John Lewis/HoF right now etc, or may have ended up in TKM because eg it's past season or the packaging's been redesigned.

Regardless, if people don't want to shop there great, it just means a better product range for me

[MrsUnderwood]

I love Homesense and think TK Maxx is okay for beauty stuff, but I haven't found a decent garment for me in there since I got a pair of grey Calvin Klien trousers 20 years ago.

[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.

[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.

[2kids2dogsnosense]

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

[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.

[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