TJX Cos. Inc.

TJX had a net gain of 131 locations in fiscal 2025, bringing its total number of retail stores to 5,085 across the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Australia.

Framingham-based retail parent TJX Cos. has purchased two office parcels on Framingham’s Speen Street for $24.3 million. 

While Central Massachusetts business leaders have seen substantial diversification among small business owners in the past three decades, the same cannot be said for those among the area’s highest-paid.

How do you whittle 35 years of headlining business news down to a couple thousand words and a few pages? You don't. But here, we take our best shot to highlight the companies, individuals, and moments that left a lasting impression.

You can define success in myriad ways: holding your ground; uncompromising ambition; the relentless pursuit of excellence; steady as she goes; staying a step ahead. The one thing shared in common by the most-heralded and well-run companies Worcester Business Journal has chronicled over 35 years is a bit of all these things.

Framingham-based retail parent TJX Cos. has further expanded its global presence with the purchase of a 35% stake in Brands for Less, a Dubai-headquartered off-price clothing, apparel, and toy retailer.

Ernie Herrman, president and CEO of The TJX Cos. in Framingham, was the highest-paid CEO among Central Massachusetts public companies for fiscal 2023.

Axo operates more than 200 stores in Mexico and has retail operations in Chile, Peru, and Uruguay. 

The situation in Central Massachusetts, where 15.6% of named executive officers are female, largely mirrors the Massachusetts rate of 16.1% determined in a statewide census.

The TJX Cos. saw $1.2 billion in profits for the third quarter of fiscal 2024, as the company added 50 store locations to its portfolio during the same time period.