TK Maxx is a subsidiary of the American apparel and home goods company TJX Companies based in Framingham, Massachusetts. The stores operate throughout the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, Germany, Poland, Austria and the Netherlands, totalling 596 stores in Europe (up from 515 in April 2017) and 56 in Australia in May 2020. In Poland, there are a total of 44 stores. The chain uses a slightly different name from that of the TJ Maxx stores in the United States, to avoid confusion with the British retailer T. J. Hughes. History In 1976, TJ Maxx was founded in Framingham, Massachusetts, United States, by Bernard Cammarata. The first international store opened in Bristol, UK, in 1994. The company modified the name to TK Maxx to avoid confusion with the established British retail chain T. J. Hughes (which is not affiliated with TJX). In 2007, TK Maxx began winding down new store openings within the United Kingdom. Focus was given to revamping older inner city stores, or relocating them. This decision led to the creation of Maxx Maxx, moving from a budget reputation into a large department store format with a wider product range. Opening of stores in the Netherlands between 1999 and 2001 was not as successful as the company wished. The first store in Germany opened on October 4, 2007, in Lübeck. In August 2008, TK Maxx opened a store on Kensington High Street, London, England, its first central London store, on a site formerly occupied by Habitat. In the following year, TK Maxx became locked in a dispute over its plans to open a store at Piccadilly Circus, London. It had signed an agreement in February 2009 to occupy a unit, formerly used by Virgin Megastores and later Zavvi, with a rent of £1.55 million per year. The freehold to the land is owned by the Crown Estate which had the final decision over allowing the company to move in to the unit. The Crown Estate rejected the plans, saying that it did not fit in with the strategy it had for the site, which was meant to give the area an upmarket appeal. The decision was met with condemnation from publicist Max Clifford, who launched a campaign in conjunction with Look to persuade the Crown Estate to allow the store to open in the unit. A court appeal by TK Maxx against the decision failed; Dutch retailer The Sting