The TJX Companies, Inc. (abbreviated TJX) is an American multinational off-price department store corporation, headquartered in Framingham, Massachusetts. It was formed as a subsidiary of Zayre Corp. in 1987, and became the legal successor to Zayre Corp. following a company reorganization in 1989. , TJX operates TJ Maxx (in the United States) and TK Maxx (in Australia and Europe), its flagship store chains, along with Marshalls, HomeGoods, HomeSense, Sierra in the United States, and HomeSense, Marshalls, Winners in Canada. There are over 4,557 discount stores in the TJX portfolio located in nine countries. TJX ranked No. 97 in the 2021 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue. History Zayre The roots of The TJX Companies date back to 1977 when the first TJ Maxx store opened in Auburn, Massachusetts as part of the discount department store chain Zayre. In June 1987, Zayre established The TJX companies as a subsidiary. In the first half of 1988, Zayre stores had operating losses of $69 million on sales of $1.4 billion. Observers blamed technological inferiority, poor maintenance, inappropriate pricing, and inventory pileups, and Zayre appeared ripe for takeover. Throughout all this, however, The TJX Companies subsidiary continued to yield a profit. In October 1988, Zayre Corp. decided to focus its energies on TJX. It sold the entire chain of nearly 400 Zayre stores to Ames Department Stores Inc. In exchange, the company received $431.4 million in cash, a receivable note, and what was then valued at $140 million of Ames cumulative senior convertible preferred stock. The company continued focus on its core business, selling unrelated operations including BJ's Wholesale Club and Home Club, leaving it with just one brand, T.J. Maxx. In June 1989, Zayre Corp. acquired the outstanding minority interest in TJX and merged with the subsidiary, changing its name from Zayre Corp. to The TJX Companies, Inc. in the process. The newly named company began trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Expansion In 1990, TJX expanded into an additional store brand division, and at the same time it first went international, as it entered the Canadian market by acquiring the five-store Winners chain. Two years later, it launched its third brand, HomeGoods, in the United States. TJX's expansion beyond North America came in 1994, when the fourth brand division, T.K. Maxx, was founded in the United Kingdom, and then expanded into Ireland. In 1995, TJX