Is Marshalls a subsidiary of TJX?

Marshalls is a store banner inside The TJX Companies' Marmaxx division rather than a separately operated subsidiary. TJX acquired the chain in 1995 and manages it jointly with T.J. Maxx through shared buying, distribution, and planning teams.

When was Marshalls founded?

The first Marshalls opened in 1956 in Beverly, Massachusetts. The chain was sold to Melville Corporation in 1976 with 36 stores, and TJX acquired it in 1995 when it had grown to 496 locations.

Who founded Marshalls?

Alfred Marshall founded the chain, with partners Bernard Goldston, Norman Barren, and Irving Blitt providing financing and operations support. Marshall, a supermarket owner, built the first store as an addition to his grocery business.

What is Marshalls' market position?

Marshalls is a budget-tier, mass-market off-price retailer selling brand-name apparel, footwear, and home goods at 20 to 60 percent below regular prices. With about 1,200 stores, it is one of the two largest off-price banners in North America.

What is the difference between Marshalls and T.J. Maxx?

Both are TJX off-price banners managed together in the Marmaxx division. Marshalls skews stronger in footwear, menswear, and active categories, while T.J. Maxx leans toward women's fashion and accessories. Assortment overlap is substantial, but each keeps a distinct store identity.

Retail & E-commerce

Who Owns Marshalls?

Q: Is Marshalls publicly traded?

No, the banner itself does not trade. Its owner, The TJX Companies, trades on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker TJX and is an S&P 500 component.

Marshalls is owned by The TJX Companies, Inc., a publicly traded off-price retailer listed on the NYSE under ticker TJX. TJX acquired Marshalls from Melville Corporation in 1995. Founded in 1956 in Beverly, Massachusetts, Marshalls operates roughly 1,200 stores across the United States and Canada as part of TJX's Marmaxx division alongside T.J. Maxx.

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Parent Company

The TJX Companies, Inc.

Acquired

1995

Status

Publicly Traded

Headquarters

Framingham, Massachusetts, USA

Marshalls Timeline

1956

Marshalls

Founded by Alfred Marshall, Bernard Goldston, Norman Barren, Irving Blitt

Founded

1995

Acquired by The TJX Companies, Inc.

The TJX Companies, Inc. acquired Marshalls

Acquired

budgetmass marketUnited Statesall-agesOfficial Website

Who Owns Marshalls?

Parent Company: The TJX Companies, Inc.
Ownership Type: Brand division
Acquisition Year: 1995
Company Type: Publicly Traded
Stock Ticker: NYSE: TJX

Brand	Parent Company	Ownership Type
Marshalls	The TJX Companies, Inc.	Brand division

History of Marshalls

Founded: 1956
Founders: Alfred Marshall, Bernard Goldston, Norman Barren, Irving Blitt
Acquired by The TJX Companies, Inc.: 1995

Alfred Marshall opened the first store in 1956 as an addition to his Beverly, Massachusetts supermarket, with financing from partners Bernard Goldston, Norman Barren, and Irving Blitt. The concept sold self-service apparel and housewares at low prices, with floor space sublet to outside sellers for shoes, hardware, and sporting goods. The model hid the subletting from shoppers and proved immediately popular.

By 1976, Marshalls had grown to 36 stores across New England and California. Marshall and his partners sold the chain that year to Melville Corporation, a New York retailer best known for footwear and drugstores. Under Melville, the chain expanded aggressively into a national off-price retailer.

When Melville restructured around CVS in the mid-1990s, it sold Marshalls to The TJX Companies in 1995 for approximately $550 million. The chain had 496 stores at the time. TJX folded it into the Marmaxx organization with T.J. Maxx, combining two of America's largest off-price banners into one buying engine.

Under TJX, Marshalls differentiated toward footwear, menswear, and active categories while T.J. Maxx leaned toward women's fashion and accessories. Canadian expansion followed through TJX Canada. The chain passed 1,000 stores in the 2010s and continues steady openings, operating about 1,230 locations in the United States and Canada as of 2026.

About The TJX Companies, Inc.

What does TJX own?
TJX owns seven retail banners: T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, HomeSense, and Sierra in the United States; Winners, HomeSense, and Marshalls in Canada; and TK Maxx and Homesense in Europe and Australia. It does not own the fashion brands it sells, which are sourced from more than 21,000 vendors.

Is TJX publicly traded?
Yes. The TJX Companies trades on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker TJX and is a component of the S&P 500. It has been listed since its predecessor Zayre Corp. went public decades ago, operating under the TJX name since 1989.

Who founded TJX?
The T.J. Maxx concept was created in 1977 by Bernard Cammarata inside Zayre Corp., a discount chain founded in 1956 by brothers Max and Morris Feldberg. After Zayre sold its department stores in 1988, the remaining company renamed itself The TJX Companies in 1989 with Cammarata as CEO.

Where is TJX headquartered?
TJX is headquartered in Framingham, Massachusetts, in the Boston metropolitan area, where the company has been based since its Zayre origins. Its buying and management operations for the U.S. business are concentrated there.

How many brands does TJX own?
TJX operates seven store banners: T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, Sierra, HomeSense, Winners, and TK Maxx, with Homesense as the European spelling of the home banner. The count is deliberately small since each banner covers a broad merchandise mix rather than a narrow brand.

Who owns TJX?
TJX is owned by public shareholders with no controlling owner. The largest holders are institutional investors such as Vanguard, BlackRock, and State Street. Ernie Herrman serves as chairman and chief executive officer.

Founded: 1977
Headquarters: Framingham, Massachusetts, USA
Company Type: Publicly Traded
Stock: NYSE: TJX
Revenue: $60.4 billion (FY2026, ended January 31, 2026)
Employees: Approximately 350,000

Visit The TJX Companies, Inc. website

View full company profile for The TJX Companies, Inc.

Where Is Marshalls Made / Based?

Headquarters: Framingham, Massachusetts, USA

Marshalls Categories & Tags

Off Price Apparel Discount Retail Department Store Footwear

Marshalls Recalls & Controversies

As a retailer rather than a manufacturer, Marshalls does not issue product recalls itself, though it has periodically removed recalled third-party goods from shelves in coordination with the CPSC.

The banner was caught up in the TJX data breach disclosed in 2007, which exposed tens of millions of customer card numbers across T.J. Maxx and Marshalls stores. The breach produced settlements exceeding $200 million and remains one of the landmark retail cybersecurity cases.

Marshalls and its TJX sister banners have also faced recurring consumer class actions over "compare at" pricing tags, with plaintiffs alleging the reference prices never reflected actual selling prices. Several such cases have settled with adjusted tag language, a familiar issue across the off-price sector.

Marshalls Ownership: Pros & Cons

Advantages

+Backed by the world's largest off-price retailer and its 21,000-vendor network
+Marmaxx shared buying infrastructure delivers scale pricing power
+Benefits from consumer trade-down in weak economies
+Seven decades of brand recognition since 1956
+Store traffic model insulated from e-commerce disruption

Considerations

-Dependent on industry overproduction and closeouts for merchandise supply
-No meaningful online channel limits omnichannel growth
-Comparison-pricing litigation is a recurring regulatory exposure
-Brand results are not separately reported, limiting investor visibility
-Inventory model means assortment is inconsistent by design, which frustrates some shoppers

Frequently Asked Questions About Marshalls

Sources & Further Reading

Competitors to Marshalls

These competing brands operate in the same categories and provide similar products or services. Compare key attributes to understand market positioning and competitive landscape.

Brand	Parent Company	Country	Founded	Market Position	Primary Market	Gender Target
Ross Dress for Less	Ross Stores	USA	1982	Mass market	United states	All-ages
T.J. MaxxSister Brand	Tjx	USA	1977	Mass market	United states	All-ages
Burlington	Burlington Stores	USA	1972	Mass market	United states	All Genders
dd's Discounts	Ross Stores	USA	2004	Mass market	United states	All-ages
Adidas	Adidas	Germany	1949	Mass market	Global	All-ages
Big W	Woolworths Group	Australia	1964	Mass market	Australia	All-ages