Sierra Trading Post Acquired by The TJX Companies, Inc.

The acquisition includes STPs office, fulfillment center and photography studios in Cheyenne, its customer call centers in Cheyenne and Cody, Wyoming, and its four outlet stores in Idaho, Nevada and Wyoming. Existing management will continue to operate STP as a stand-alone business from its Cheyenne, WY headquarters.  While it is not expected to contribute significantly to TJXs earnings, STPs e-commerce expertise and infrastructure will help the giant discounter to take its own off-price banners online more quickly.

TJX, which reported sales of $23.2 billion in more than 60 countries in fiscal 2011, operates 1,039 T.J. Maxx, 912 Marshalls, and 417 HomeGoods stores in the United States. In addition it operates 222 Winners, 88 HomeSense, and 14 Marshalls stores in Canada and 344 T.K. Maxx and 24 HomeSense stores in Europe.

Founded in 1986, STP specializes in purchasing brand name overstocks, closeouts and seconds and offering them to customers for 35 to 70 percent off MSRP. The company, which was privately-held, has been a primary clearance outlet for outdoor sporting goods and home furnishings brands and expanded its selection to include tennis, golf, baseball, softball and racquet ball gear in 2011. The company is on track to surpass $200 million in annual revenue this year, is profitable, and employs 700 associates, TJX disclosed.

TJX acquired STPs office, fulfillment center and photography studios in Cheyenne, its customer call centers in Cheyenne and Cody, WY and its four outlet stores in Idaho, Nevada and Wyoming. The deal will also provide TJX, which caters primarily to women between the ages of 25 and 54, exposure to more male consumers.

We continue to plan on launching e-commerce sites for TJX brands and this acquisition adds immediate scale, capabilities and infrastructure in e-commerce, which we can leverage in that regard, said Carol Meyrowitz, CEO of TJX. We believe we will be able to build upon this platform as we continue to develop our e-commerce strategy. Further, we are confident that TJX can help grow the Sierra business profitably through our buying scale, marketing and our other capabilities.

Both TJX and Sierra specialize in helping apparel, footwear and home furnishings brands liquidate inventory, have a loyal customer base, strong vendor relationships, and operate with a low cost structure, said Meyrowitz.

While STPs financial results will be folded into TJXs consolidate financial results going forward, TJX will provide some detail on STPs fourth quarter performance at its year-end earnings conference call, which is scheduled for Feb. 27.

Peter J. Solomon Company, LLC, and BofA Merrill Lynch acted as financial advisors and Ropes & Gray LLP provided legal counsel to the company in connection with this transaction. The deal is subject to customary post-closing adjustments and financed from TJXs existing cash balances.