TJX Europe president Paul Sweetenham to depart

Sweetenham, who has been at the helm of TJX Europe since 2007, will be replaced by Michael MacMillan, who currently heads up The Marmaxx Group.

The Marmaxx Group is TJX Companies’ largest division, made up of T.J. Maxx and Marshalls in the US.

The management changes will be effective for fiscal 2013, according to a statement.

Carol Meyrowitz, chief executive officer of The TJX Companies, said that under MacMillan, since 2008, The Marmaxx Group had posted “consistently strong comp store sales growth” and profits are expected to have approximately doubled to over $2bn (£1.28bn)  by the end of this fiscal year.

She said:”We have every confidence that Michael is the right executive and leader to grow our fundamentally very strong business in Europe.

“I am truly delighted that he will be leading TJX Europe, which we believe holds tremendous growth potential for the company.”

MacMillan, a UK national, has strong international experience, having held executive positions at both TJX Canada and The Marmaxx Group across a variety of disciplines.

Meyrowitz added: “We are very grateful to Paul Sweetenham for his many years of dedicated leadership. We wish Paul continued success.”

TK Maxx built its brand and presence in the UK and Ireland under Sweetenham. He joined TJX in 1993 as head of retail operations at TK Maxx and became President of that division in 2001.

The announcement of Sweetenham’s departure coincides with the appointment of Richard Sherr, president of HomeGoods, to senior executive vice president of The Marmaxx Group. He will report to TJX president, Ernie Herrman.

TJX Europe reported a strong second quarter last year, tripling its profits to $7.3m (£4.5m), although like-for-like sales in Europe remained flat.