TJX Cos. says it is shuttering its A.J. Wright discount stores – including three in New Britain, Wethersfield and Windsor — by mid-February, cutting 4,400 jobs and converting some stores to other brands such as T.J. Maxx, The Associated Press reports.
Ninety-one stores will be converted into T.J. Maxx, Marshalls or HomeGoods stores, and 71 will close entirely, along with two distribution centers. About 3,400 staffers will remain employed at the converted stores.
TJX said the move allows the company, based in Framingham, Mass., to focus on its more profitable businesses. Most positions are part time.
Meantime, the union representing 821 workers at the retailer’s Fall River, Mass., distribution center assailed the closing as an example of “corporate greed and the demand for excess profit.”
According to the retailer’s website, the three Connecticut A.J. Wright locations are New Brite Plaza, 76 E. Main St. in New Britain; Jordan Lane Shopping Center, 1420 Berlin Turnpike, in Wethersfield; and Windsor Shopping Center, 530 Windsor Ave. It was unclear whether the Hartford area stores are among those to be converted.
“All associates will have the opportunity to be compensated through the holiday season, and about half of the positions will be retained through late January,” CEO Carol Meyrowitz said.
All 162 A.J. Wright stores will close by mid-February. The 91 will reopen under a different name after eight weeks.
After the cuts TJX will have about 150,000 staffers. As of December, the company operated 924 T.J. Maxx stores, 832 Marshalls and 36 HomeGoods in addition to the 162 A.J. Wright stores.
The company said it will cost $150 million to $170 million to close the stores and $12 million to $15 million for the store conversions.
TJX launched A.J. Wright in 1998 as a discount store brand similar to T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, selling clothing, home decor, shoes and other items, but it never performed quite as well as its sibling stores. T.J. Maxx and Marshalls have benefitted as shoppers hunt for bargains due to high unemployment and the uncertain economy.
But A.J. Wright stores offered even lower-priced products than T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, and that turned out to be not as appealing to shoppers.
