The TJX Companies, Inc. reported that its Bob’s Stores division posted a 10% comparable store sales gain for the fiscal second quarter ended July 28 on top of a 6% increase in the second quarter last year. Total sales increased 10.7% to $71.3 million from $64.3 million in the year-ago period.  The division narrowed its operating loss for the quarter, posting a loss of $3.5 million, compared to an operating loss of $4.0 million in second quarter last year.


TJX added a new ad agency for Bob’s and boosted the chain’s ad spend in the period to drive traffic. 


When responding to an analyst’s question about a go/no go decision on Bob’s Stores, Carol Meyrowitz, president and CEO of The TJX Companies, said that they expected to have a better feeling about the business by the end of the year.  “I think if we have a strong back half, that's going to tell us a lot,” she said during the company’s quarterly conference call.