BA (Hons) International Business[Type the company name]
4/29/20132013
T.K. Maxx - Marketing MixBA (Hons) International Business
T.K. Maxx - Marketing Mix
Contents
Company History/Background...................................................................................................1
Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning......................................................................2
Market Segmentation.............................................................................................................2
Targeting................................................................................................................................2
Positioning..............................................................................................................................3
Product.......................................................................................................................................4
Product Life Cycle.................................................................................................................4
Pricing........................................................................................................................................5
Internal & External Pricing Factors.......................................................................................5
Pricing differentiation to competition....................................................................................6
Place (Distribution)....................................................................................................................8
Channels of Distribution........................................................................................................8
Promotions...............................................................................................................................10
Advertising...........................................................................................................................10
Personal Selling....................................................................................................................14
Public Relations...................................................................................................................15
Conclusions & Recommendations...........................................................................................17
Conclusion............................................................................................................................17
Recommendations................................................................................................................19
Bibliography.............................................................................................................................20
T.K. Maxx - Marketing Mix
Company History/Background
T.K. Maxx offers brand-name and designer goods at highly discounted prices in areas such as
men’s women’s and children’s apparel as well as various other things such as home products,
toys, body and bath cosmetics and footwear and accessories departments which are currently
being expanded (T.K. Maxx, 2013). The stores measure about 32,000 square feet, claiming to
have about 50,000 items in stock and receive about 10,000 new items a week. (Yahoo, 2013).
T.K. Maxx is chain owned by the American organisation TJX Companies Inc. which was
founded in 1976 and currently operates 983 stores.
Picture 1: A typical T.K. Maxx Store
If we look at the history of T.K. Maxx we need to start from 1919 when the New England
Trading Company was founded by brothers Morris and Max Feldberg in Boston
Massachusetts. In 1929, the Feldberg brothers opened their first retail store selling ladies
hosiery. Twenty years later the store had grown into a chain of women’s apparel stores. In
1956 Stanley and Sumner who were the next generation of Feldberg established a new
company called Zayre discount department, the first ever self-service discount department
store which provided convenience, selection and quality. It was then that Ben Cammarata, a
young talented merchant was offered the opportunity to build a new off-price chain. And so
in the 1976 TJ Maxx was born under Cammarata’s leadership. It experienced mass growth
and with that success, the company grew into the TJX Companies Inc. which is now a leading
off-price retailer in the United States and worldwide owning T.J. Maxx, T.K. Maxx, Home
Sense, Marshalls and Winners (TJX, 2013).
T.K. Maxx - Marketing Mix
T.J. Maxx is a major American department store which expanded to Europe in 1994 with the
launch of T.K. Maxx in the UK and then in Ireland and furthermore to Germany in 2007 and
to Poland in 2009. The first European store opened in Bristol in England and so the name was
changed to avoid confusion with the British retail chain TJ Hughes. There are now 332 T.K.
Maxx stores across Europe, 100 of which have been opened in the last 4 years (TJX, 2013).
Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning
Market Segmentation
Market segmentation is defined as ‘the identification of individuals or organizations with
similar characteristics that have significant implications for the determination of marketing
strategy’ (Jobber and Fahy, 2009). Thus, it involves the division of a diverse market into a
number of submarkets that have common features. The marketer then decides which
segment(s) to target and how to position the product within the market. There are five
methods of market segmentation – Geographic, Demographic, Geodemographic,
Psychographic and Behavioural. Demographic segmentation is amongst the most popular
bases for segmenting customer groups. It divides the market into groups based on variables
such as age, gender, marital status, income and/or occupation. This is the most applicable
method of segmentation in regards to T.K. Maxx. As discount retailers, their products are
aimed directly at consumers with relatively low incomes with an interest in designer and
luxury goods (Tutor2u, 2012). Age and gender are also a factor; though all ages and genders
are targeted they are targeted separately through the various departments i.e. men’s, women’s
and children’s.
Targeting
Market targeting involves developing measures of segmentation attractiveness and selecting
target segments. There are four aspects of attractiveness to be considered. The segment must
be measurable i.e. be of substantial size and have good potential for growth, it must have
profitable projections, it must be accessible meaning there cannot be barriers to entry and
there must not be too much competition and finally it must be actionable i.e. there must be
potential channels of distribution as well as sufficient available finance. In order to target full
market coverage there are three types of marketing which can be used – undifferentiated
(mass) marketing, differentiated marketing or single segment concentration/concentrated
marketing.
T.K. Maxx - Marketing Mix
T.K. Maxx uses differentiated marketing which involves ‘offering a range of different
products for the different customer segments’ (Harris, 2012). It combines the best attributes
of concentrated marketing which specialises in a niche market and undifferentiated marketing
which ignores different segment differences and tries to attract all segments with the same
offering (Marketing91, 2010). As the company uses demographic market segmentation we
can see how they make use of differentiated marketing by offering different goods for all
ages of men, women, and children. There is also a section within the men’s and women’s
clothing departments called ‘modbox’ which targets teenagers and young adults. As well as
clothes; home ware, accessories, toys and cosmetics are on sale, with each department
appealing to different customer segments. All departments are promoted in different ways to
reflect the interests of the targeted customers. This is done partly through the different
coloured signage and posters placed above each section.
Positioning
Positioning is determined by the customer. If the customer perceives T.K. Maxx’s product
offering to be overpriced or of poor quality then that is their position. In my opinion, T.K.
Maxx has a mixed yet overall good positioning. I find that despite T.K. Maxx’s thorough
advertising techniques, some people are still unaware of the T.K. Maxx process and as a
result assume that products are fake or of second-hand quality. I feel that this is because of
the small number of T.K. Maxx stores in Ireland. On the other hand however, as an associate
in the T.K. Maxx store in Arklow, Co. Wicklow I would say that this particular store has a
service differentiation. It offers excellent customer service which I would say is notably
better than other stores within the shopping centre.
It also has a location differentiation being situated in the Bridgewater Shopping Centre which
is a well-known Irish shopping centre. Not only is it located here it is also one of the biggest
stores in the centre. Then of course there is the matter of price differentiation whereby a huge
range of discounted brand-name goods are on sale. Ultimately, T.K. Maxx has selected its
desired position and is communicating their competitive advantages very effectively through
well-invested advertising. We can measure the positioning of T.K. Maxx from its worldwide
success and reputation as a leading discount retailer of excellent quality branded goods.
T.K. Maxx - Marketing Mix
Product
Product Life Cycle
The product life cycle is a four-stage cycle in the life of a product. The four stages are
introduction, growth, maturity and decline and are illustrated as a curve. The PLC emphasises
the fact that nothing lasts forever (Jobber and Fahy, 2009). The graph below shows the PLC
curve.
Graph 1: The Product Life Cycle (Blogspot, 2010)
As a retailer, T.K. Maxx does not necessarily follow the PLC curve from inception to demise
but it does experience the maturity to decline process. The maturity stage is when peak sales
are experienced and the objective is to maximise profits. But what goes up must come down
and so the next stage is decline. Sales begin to decline along with profits. The objective now
is to decide whether to keep or drop the product.
T.K. Maxx receives deliveries daily. These goods are put onto the shop floor for sale at full
price. This would be the maturity stage that brings in high profits. If goods do not sell 6
weeks after being brought into the shop they are reduced and put into the ‘clearance’ section
and this begins the stage of decline. If they are still there after a further 3 weeks they are
reduced again. This process will then continue every 3 weeks until the item is sold. With
goods that continue to have poor sales and experience the declining stage T.K. Maxx will
reconsider distribution methods and phase out unprofitable outlets.
T.K. Maxx - Marketing Mix
Pricing
Internal & External Pricing Factors
All marketing decisions, including price, contribute to achieving company goals. The final
price set for a product may be influenced by various different factors which can be
categorized into groups – internal and external factors.
Internal factors are factors which are caused by company actions and decisions. Thus, in
some ways these factors can be controlled by the company and even altered if necessary.
Making a quick change however, is not always a realistic option. There are four main
objectives that influence pricing decisions yet in most situations, only one will be followed.
The objectives are to attain a return on investment (ROI), improve cash flow, increase market
share, and maximize profits (KnowThis, 2010).
For T.K. Maxx the main objective is cash flow. They seek to set prices at a level that will
ensure that revenue from sales will cover purchasing costs as well as marketing costs. Every
T.K. Maxx store is given a daily sales target as well as weekly target and so the stores’ aim is
to ‘comp’ and reach that level of revenue. If the store reaches levels of sales above target this
is simply an added benefit which helps to maximise profits. Price is a key marketing mix
decision and since all marketing mix decisions must work together, the final price will be
impacted by other marketing mix decisions. As marketers selling high-quality discounted
products, T.K. Maxx prices their products in a range that will add to the perception of the
products being inexpensive products of good quality.
Furthermore, another starting point for setting prices is considering the costs of getting the
product to the customers. Obviously the price paid by customers must exceed these costs in
order to make a profit (KnowThis, 2010). T.K. Maxx must analyse all relevant costs needed
to get the product to the market. These costs would include marketing, distribution and
company administration. These costs are then categorised into two types of costs - fixed and
variable costs. Fixed costs or overhead costs are costs that are not affected by sales. For T.K.
Maxx these costs exist in the form of expenditure for carrying out an advertising campaign,
paying a server to host the company’s website and fielding a sales force as well as a team of
‘buyers’. T.K. Maxx must be committed to these costs, regardless of sales levels so that the
company will continue to run efficiently.
Variable costs are directly associated with product sales and so may change as levels of sales
change. These costs are typically evaluated on a ‘per-unit basis’ since the cost is associated
T.K. Maxx - Marketing Mix
directly with individual items. Whereas applying fixed costs to individual products is less
straightforward (KnowThis, 2010). For T.K. Maxx the majority of variable costs involve
costs of items which are components of the product e.g. packaging and tagging. They are also
associated with the warehousing of the products e.g. electricity to support the warehousing
process.
External factors are influencing factors that are not controlled by T.K. Maxx but will still
impact pricing decisions. As a result, the company must conduct market research in each
market to be constantly aware of what is happening in each market served by the company.
This must be done continuously to monitor whether marketing decisions require adjustments.
If adjustments do need to be made T.K. Maxx ensures that they understand what affect a
change in price could have on the demand of the target market. This requires a firm
understanding of the economic concept of elasticity of demand which relates to the change in
the quantity of purchases as a result of a change in price. With elasticity it is assumed that
only price changes and all other things are ‘equal’.
Elasticity deals with three types of demand scenarios. These are elastic demand, inelastic
demand and unitary demand. T.K. deals mainly with elastic demand which means that ‘a
certain percentage change in price results in a larger and opposite percentage change in
demand’ (KnowThis, 2010). This means that if T.K. Maxx increases price this will lower
total revenue while decreasing price will increase total revenue. The most prominent external
factor that influences pricing is the expectations of customers. When customers make
purchasing decisions they assess the ‘overall value’ of the product rather than just the price
(KnowThis, 2010). Thus, when deciding on prices, T.K. Maxx must evaluate what ‘price
points’ are deemed acceptable by customers in terms of ‘overall value’ so as not to
discourage purchases.
Pricing differentiation to competition
T.K. Maxx essentially majors on price as their differential advantage. This requires massive
buying power and vigilant cost control. T.K. Maxx focuses on affordable prices for goods
which elsewhere, are a lot more expensive. They consider their consistently low prices to be
more favourable than higher prices supplemented by occasional promotions such as money-
off deals, three-for-two or buy one get one free. It is important for T.K. Maxx to satisfy the
needs and wants of their customers better than their competitors through this competitive
advantage. It can be difficult to do so however as brands which are sold in store are often
T.K. Maxx - Marketing Mix
better known in brand name shops or even in other department stores. For example, most men
looking for a Ben Sherman shirt would be more inclined to go to a Ben Sherman shop rather
than T.K. Maxx. The same goes for sports brands such as Nike whose goods are purchased
mainly in sports shops. This is why T.K. Maxx must continue to highlight their discounted
prices and exceptional quality and variety.
In terms of the T.K. Maxx store in which I work, it has many competitors in the shopping
centre because of its wide variety of goods. As the shopping centre is not that big however I
would say that T.K. Maxx has a huge price advantage over the other stores as it offers the
same goods at cheaper prices. The fact that all the shops are extremely close to each other and
do not have many other competitors, many people would be inclined to get the goods in T.K.
Maxx. The availability of many different goods in one shop would also appeal because of
convenience. In addition to all this, T.K. Maxx uses psychological pricing on all full-price
goods. This is ‘the careful manipulation of the reference prices that consumers carry in their
heads’ (Jobber and Fahy, 2009). Consequently, the price of most goods ends in ‘.99’ because
the psychological difference between 2.99 and 3.00 is much greater than the actual
difference. Without realising, people find it easier to buy things priced psychologically and so
this too is a pricing advantage.
T.K. Maxx - Marketing Mix
Place (Distribution)
Channels of Distribution
Distribution decisions involve how to deliver products to the consumer and where this should
take place. It includes all stages between the manufacturer and the final consumer. These are
referred to as the channel levels. Choosing a method of distribution depends on certain
factors such as company objectives, customer preferences, cost effectiveness, competitor’s
distribution strategy and market trends. The Channel of Distribution involved with T.K.
Maxx however differs to most other retail stores. Goods are purchased by T.K. Maxx
‘buyers’ through an opportunistic buying system. They can buy from a range of people – it
could be a retailer, a supplier, a wholesaler or even a manufacturer, anywhere they can get
excess, discounted and unwanted branded stock.
In order to bring in consistently new products and ranges TJX have developed a ‘highly
sophisticated’ and unique approach to logistics, distribution and warehousing. This involves
very short supply chains with distribution services from four Processing Centres located in
Wakefield, Stoke and Walsall in the UK and Bergheim in Germany.
Picture 2: T.K. Maxx Processing Centre
Merchandise bought by the ‘buyers’ are received in these centres and undergo a series of
processes to be made ready for sale in store. Individual orders are then dispatched to a series
of Logistics Centres and Cross-Docking Centres, allowing for regular delivery to T.K. Maxx
(T.K. Maxx, 2013). T.K. Maxx runs their own delivery service exclusively for the speedy
delivery of goods to T.K. Maxx Stores.
T.K. Maxx - Marketing Mix
Picture 3: T.K. Maxx’s ‘super model’ delivery truck
Intensive distribution is involved in the TJX distribution process as they have hundreds of
different distributors from which their buyers buy from. Intensive distribution allows the
principle that ‘more is better’ meaning manufacturers should maximise the amount of
companies they distribute to, a principle that strongly agrees with the T.K. Maxx formation.
T.K. Maxx are also taking part in some recent trends in distribution such as longer opening
hours (on Thursdays and Fridays), Sunday trading and speed of delivery service. These trends
are increasing market share but at the expense of independent retailers who are falling
behind.
T.K. Maxx - Marketing Mix
Promotions
Advertising
Advertising is ‘any paid form of presentation and promotion of ideas, products or services by
a company or organisation’ (Harris, 2013). T.K. Maxx is renowned for their extensive
advertising campaigns. They fund advertising extremely well and rely heavily on television
adverts. T.K. Maxx’s latest ad campaign is the Spring/Summer 2013 TV advert. The first step
in developing this ad was to identify the target audience. Using differentiated marketing T.K.
Maxx highlights the diversity of target markets through the use of the strapline ‘Do Your
Thing’ which encourages all people to celebrate their individuality through fashion trends.
Catrina Funk, TK Maxx creative director, says “Our spring/summer TV campaign is a
celebration of each and every one of us. From old to young, TK Maxx loves the fact that
everyone is different with their own individual style- they walk and dance to their own
unique beat” (Marketing Week, 2013).
Next they must determine the response sought, which of course is for everyone to be inspired
by T.K. Maxx to accentuate your own personal style and individuality. An important step
then was to select the right message. In this case, the message content focuses mainly on
emotional appeal in the sense that it draws on people to embrace their individual style which
people can sometimes shy away from because of the fashion ‘norms’ of society. It also
focuses on the positive which is the price. The voiceover states ‘Love your style, respect your
money’, encouraging people to enjoy the ‘latest fashion trends’ at ‘up to 60%’ off RRP.
Essentially, T.K. Maxx is trying to shed its perception as a cheap clothing retailer by focusing
more on current fashion trends (Marketing Week, 2013).
The correct media must then be selected. Because of little to no budget constraints when it
comes to advertising, T.K. Maxx could use the most effective form of advertising for an
almost worldwide company which is television advertising. This provides visuals as well as
sounds and can reach a very large and diverse market. Then they chose a message source.
The person delivering the communication can be crucial to the effectiveness of the campaign.
This ad features a diverse range of people dancing to an upbeat song by Irish-English singer-
songwriter and rapper Maverick Sabre which he exclusively created for T.K. Maxx’s
spring/summer campaign. This in itself is extremely effective as it creates a celebrity source
which appeals to many consumers. A voiceover then cuts in in a relaxing voice with a hint of
a Jamaican accent with the ‘Love your style, respect your money’ slogan. The ad is then
T.K. Maxx - Marketing Mix
concluded by a cool and crisp female British accent briefly explaining the ‘always up to 60%’
promise.
This ad can be seen at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=GTORgRsjpeY.
Below are some screen shots from the ad which show the range of styles used with all age
groups and genders as well as the use of bright colours to give a summer vibe.
Picture 4: Young male dancing
T.K. Maxx - Marketing Mix
Picture 5: Young Women dancing on the beach
Picture 6: Elderly couple dancing happily together
T.K. Maxx - Marketing Mix
Picture 7: Young Male with dog
T.K. Maxx - Marketing Mix
Below these is another screenshot which is from their 2012 winter ad campaign which again
was extremely well done and shows the focus on seasonal advertisements
Picture 8: Happy family at Christmas time
Personal Selling
Personal Selling is seen as ‘a communications tool which involves face to face activities to
inform/persuade a customer to purchase a product/service’ (Harris, 2013). The key to
personal selling is that the message is personal. Therefore the message can be adjusted to
meet the needs of a specific customer. It is extremely effective in retailing as there is direct
interaction with the customers. T.K. Maxx do not operate under a personal selling strategy
per say but instead, as mentioned already in the positioning section, has excellent customer
service and are extremely customer orientated. This is especially apparent in the store in
which I work which was awarded a customer service award this year. This is the first year the
award has been given out and I feel this will act as an incentive to encourage more effective
personal selling.
In T.K. Maxx personal selling is used when requested on the shop floor and at the check outs.
The associates on the shop floor are always available to offer guidance, assistance and
recommendations. The same goes for the associates at the registers who are extremely
friendly and informing. The effectiveness of T.K. Maxx’s customer service can be measured
from an online survey offered to customers with their receipt. The survey gives the customer
the opportunity to give feedback about the associates and also enters the customer into a draw
giving them a chance to win €1,000. Overall, the majority of feedback is always positive and
T.K. Maxx - Marketing Mix
personally, I have never heard of negative feedback regarding any of the members of staff
that I work with.
Public Relations
Public relations (PR) were introduced by Eddie Bernays following World War II. PR
‘attempts to establish and maintain good will between a company and its publics’ (Harris,
2013). These publics may be internal in the form of employees and shareholders or external
in the form of the media, suppliers, customers and interest groups. Public relations are now a
vital cog of all enterprise in the modern world. Public relations have multi-purpose functions
including enhancing the reputation of the company in the public, providing vital links to other
businesses and can be an important tool to develop and expand contacts both in the
commercial and public worlds.
TK Maxx uses public relations extremely well in forming a real connection with their target
market. The importance of this is invaluable as it provides the customer with a sense that the
products and services provided by T.K. Maxx are something that they need in their lives.
Other advantages of public relations are that the image of the company is upgraded and the
cost of public relations is also a benefit given that it is free and so a potential increase in
customer base should be realised (Mahony, 2013).
The key to effective public relations is to develop excellent media relationships for both the
coverage of positive news stories as well as for crisis management which will create damage
limitations. For example, in the store in Arklow the local media covers various charity work
done by T.K. Maxx in the local area. Below is a photo of some of my fellow staff members
showing their support for Mark Dickens, a survivor of the Manx 2 airplane crash who cycled
from Belfast to Cork following the same route as the plane. T.K. Maxx sponsored Mark and
his partner’s cycle, helping them raise funds for the Children’s Leukaemia Association.
T.K. Maxx - Marketing Mix
Picture 9: T.K. Maxx staff Arklow, Co. Wicklow
On the other hand, in previous years T.K. Maxx in Bridgewater had come under scrutiny in
relation to an increased number of thefts in-store. The shop was criticised for having poor
levels of security yet because of their good relationship with the local media, little was
published regarding the incident. As a result, many customers new nothing about this and so
their views regarding the store were not affected.
T.K. Maxx - Marketing Mix
Conclusions & Recommendations
Conclusion
In conclusion, I found it very interesting learning more about the company I work with.
Methods and strategies used in my job now make more sense to me as I had simply accepted
them as chores and never questioned the purpose behind them. As well as some research,
even putting more detailed thought into my day-to-day job revealed information which was
applicable to this project and so the biggest thing for me was realising how much I already
knew about T.K. Maxx’s marketing strategy without even realising it. The first thing I learnt
a lot about was the history of the company. Prior to this the only thing I knew was that T.K.
Maxx was somehow connected with T.J. Maxx. I found it interesting to learn so much about
the background of a company, especially one in which I work in.
In relation to market segmentation I enjoyed analysing the ways in which T.K. Maxx
segments the market as before I had not put much thought into the matter. The way in which
T.K. Maxx uses demographic segmentation made a lot of sense to me once I put some
thought into it. This was the same for their use of differentiated market targeting. Positioning
again was something I could analyse myself and by doing so actually taught myself more
about T.K. Maxx’s methods.
With the product life cycle it took me a while to think about how I could apply it to T.K.
Maxx. It was hard to research this and so I made use of just two stages of the PLC as best I
could. Again, it was an eye opener when I finally thought of how to apply it yet I feel as
though it is lacking in information so I would say this was the section I struggled with the
most. On the other hand, on the pricing section I had too much information to give. For
internal and external pricing factors I did further research and discovered how these factors
affect T.K. Maxx’s price setting. I found that T.K. Maxx were influenced more so by internal
factors. Prices are set by Head Office and so the individual stores have no say in price setting
but from my knowledge, they are extremely focused on covering costs and then maximising
profits.
Pricing differentiation is a huge thing for T.K. Maxx considering it deals with discounted
brand-name goods. I found this very easy to apply to the store that I work by analysing
various competitors within the shopping centre. Overall I feel that they have quite a big
advantage over competitors both in the shopping centre and in all stores. For the distribution
section I again struggled slightly with the channels of distribution. T.K. Maxx does not
T.K. Maxx - Marketing Mix
follow a traditional channel and so I was unsure how to go about this section. I did however
do some research and did learn about processing centres. I had always wondered how the
process worked but had never actually questioned.
The final part was the promotions section. I enjoyed this part of the project the most. I did not
learn much new information but it is one of my favourite aspects of T.K. Maxx and despite
not learning new information, I realised how much I like T.K. Maxx’s methods of
promotions. Their advertising campaigns were particularly appealing and I came to the
realisation that I would enjoy working in this area of T.K. Maxx, or even just this area of
business. I decided to go into detail about the current spring/summer campaign as I would say
it is one of their best ads to date, as well as one of the best ads around at the moment. I
admired the way in which the ad has the full ability to appeal to every market which is
essentially what T.K. Maxx aims to do and I felt that this ad conveyed this extremely well. I
have also noticed that T.K. Maxx’s ads always use songs that are not very famous but are
very good songs which again can be enjoyed by nearly everyone. I felt also that the ads
always convey a strong feeling of joy and happiness that is able to captivate people. These
types of ads that have an effect on people are the types of ads that I would love to be involved
with.
For personal selling and public relations I could again use T.K. Maxx in Arklow to use more
detailed, personal information. This made me realise that T.K. Maxx has a very good image
in Arklow and is extremely committed to its customers. Something I notice a lot since I
started working in T.K. Maxx is that customer service in T.K. Maxx in comparison to a lot of
other Irish stores is very friendly and helpful. I often have encounters with rude members of
staff in big chains such as Dunnes, Tesco, and Penneys and always find myself outraged
when I compare to how friendly I try to be when I am in work and also about how our
managers would not condone that level of rudeness.
Overall, I really enjoyed doing this assignment. I would recommend that everyone should put
some research into their place of work as I found it extremely interesting and a huge learning
experience. I feel that in some ways I had a slight advantage over those in my class who did
not enjoy doing it as much and possibly did not achieve the same type of learning and
realisation I gained from doing this assignment.
T.K. Maxx - Marketing Mix
Recommendations
After learning more about T.K. Maxx, despite them being extremely successful and efficient,
there are some areas in which I personally think some improvements could be made. A small
thing that the company could possibly do is to provide the associates with information
regarding the history of the company. It would not have to be a compulsory part of the
associate’s job it would simply be an option for the associate to read up about the company’s
history. Thus, I would recommend that associates be given a hand out about the company
background.
I also think it would be a good idea for associates to be more informed about T.K. Maxx’s
distribution process as it is huge factor of T.K. Maxx as well as the ‘buying’ process. This
would also help with personal selling as associates would be able to further inform customers
about the store and how things work. As far as promotions go, T.K. Maxx goes about this
extremely well yet locally in Arklow I feel that some people are not that well informed about
T.K. Maxx. Thus, I would recommend the Arklow store to request permission from Head
Office to increase promotions in the local area.
Furthermore, in terms of the shop itself, something which I find customers often have a
problem with is the miscellaneous lay out of the store. There is however a structure to the
layout and so instead of changing the layout of the store as this is the charm of T.K. Maxx,
they could simply use more signs to explain the lay out and how to locate things that people
are looking for. In my opinion this would actually increase sales thus improving cash flow
and maximising profits.
Overall however, I feel that T.K. Maxx are doing an extremely good job at being a unique
type of retailer who can provide something for everyone. I feel that if they continue with their
brilliant advertising they will remain profitable for a very long time.
T.K. Maxx - Marketing Mix
Bibliography
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Harris, D.H., 2013. Advertising. Marketing Mix [Class Notes]
Harris, D.H., 2013. Personal Selling. Marketing Mix [Class Notes]
Harris, D.H., 2013. Public Relations. Marketing Mix [Class Notes]
Harris, D.H., 2012. Market Segmentation. Introduction to Marketing [Class Notes]
Jobber and Fahy, D.J. & J.F., 2009. Foundations of Marketing. 3rd ed. Berkshire: McGraw-Hill Education
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T.K. Maxx - Marketing Mix
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