Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

6 Months Ended

Jul. 31, 2021

Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

The Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes thereto have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) for interim financial information. These Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes thereto are unaudited and, in the opinion of management, reflect all normal recurring adjustments, accruals and deferrals among periods required to match costs properly with the related revenue or activity, considered necessary by The TJX Companies, Inc. (together with its subsidiaries, “TJX”) for a fair statement of its Consolidated Financial Statements for the periods reported, all in conformity with GAAP consistently applied. Investments for which the Company exercises significant influence but does not have control are accounted for under the equity method. The Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes thereto should be read in conjunction with the audited Consolidated Financial Statements, including the related notes, contained in TJX’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 30, 2021 (“fiscal 2021”).

These interim results are not necessarily indicative of results for the full fiscal year. TJX’s business, in common with the businesses of retailers generally, is subject to seasonal influences, with higher levels of sales and income generally realized in the second half of the year.

The January 30, 2021 balance sheet data was derived from audited Consolidated Financial Statements and does not include all disclosures required by GAAP.

COVID-19 Pandemic

The novel coronavirus disease (“COVID-19”) was identified in December 2019 before spreading worldwide. The Company has been, and may continue to be, impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to the pandemic, primarily during the first quarter of fiscal 2021, the Company took several steps to strengthen its financial position and balance sheet and to maintain financial liquidity and flexibility. The COVID-19 pandemic is complex and rapidly evolving and the severity and duration of the pandemic is still unknown. Additionally, its resurgence or the emergence of new variants has caused and may continue to cause intermittent or prolonged periods of temporary store closures, and stringent occupancy restrictions while stores are open, and could elicit further actions and recommendations from governments and public health authorities that could impact our operations.

In the first quarter of fiscal 2021, the Company temporarily closed all of its stores, distribution centers and offices, and online businesses until the second quarter of fiscal 2021. During the first six months of fiscal 2022, while the Company’s stores in the United States remained open for the entire period, the Company had temporary store closures, in Europe, Canada and Australia. The Company continues to monitor developments, including government requirements and recommendations at the national, state, and local level that could result in possible additional impacts to our operations. The Company cannot reasonably estimate the duration and severity of this pandemic which has had, and may continue to have, a material impact on its business, results of operations, financial position and cash flows.

Fiscal Year

TJX’s fiscal year ends on the Saturday nearest to the last day of January of each year. The current fiscal year ends January 29, 2022 (“fiscal 2022”) and is a 52-week fiscal year. Fiscal 2021 was also a 52-week fiscal year.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements, in conformity with GAAP, requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent liabilities at the date of the financial statements as well as the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. TJX considers its accounting policies relating to leases, inventory valuation, impairment of long-lived assets, reserves for uncertain tax positions and loss contingencies to be the most significant accounting policies that involve management estimates and judgments. The Company considered COVID-19 related impacts to its estimates, as appropriate, within its consolidated financial statements and there may be changes to those estimates in future periods. The Company believes that its accounting estimates are appropriate after giving consideration to the ongoing uncertainties surrounding the severity and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated containment and remediation efforts. Actual amounts could differ from these estimates, and such differences could be material.

Reclassifications

Certain reclassifications have been made to prior year financial information to conform to the current year’s presentation.

Deferred Gift Card Revenue

The following table presents deferred gift card revenue activity:


In thousands	July 31, 2021		August 1, 2020
Balance, beginning of year	$	576,187	$	500,844
Deferred revenue	769,970		355,397
Effect of exchange rates changes on deferred revenue	2,041		(854)
Revenue recognized	(802,194)		(378,782)
Balance, end of period	$	546,004	$	476,605

TJX recognized $436.3 million in gift card revenue for the three months ended July 31, 2021 and $198.7 million in gift card revenue for the three months ended August 1, 2020. The increase in both deferred revenue and revenue recognized versus the prior year reflects the impact of the temporary store closures in the first half of fiscal 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Gift cards are combined in one homogeneous pool and are not separately identifiable. As such, the revenue recognized consists of gift cards that were part of the deferred revenue balance at the beginning of the period as well as gift cards that were issued during the period.

Leases

Supplemental cash flow information related to leases for the twenty-six weeks ended July 31, 2021 and August 1, 2020 is as follows:


	Twenty-Six Weeks Ended
In thousands	July 31, 2021		August 1, 2020
Operating cash flows paid for operating leases	$	1,061,163	$	762,823
Lease liabilities arising from obtaining right of use assets	$	1,016,813	$	765,183

During fiscal 2021, the Company negotiated rent deferrals for a significant number of its stores, with repayment primarily throughout fiscal 2022.

Future Adoption of New Accounting Standards

From time to time, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) or other standard setting bodies issue new accounting pronouncements. Updates to the FASB Accounting Standards Codification are communicated through issuance of an Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”). The Company has reviewed the new guidance and has determined that they will either not apply to TJX or they are not expected to be material to its Consolidated Financial Statements upon adoption and therefore they are not disclosed.