Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

9 Months Ended

Nov. 02, 2019

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. 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 February 2, 2019 (“fiscal 2019”).

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 February 2, 2019 balance sheet data was derived from audited Consolidated Financial Statements and does not include all disclosures required by GAAP.

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 February 1, 2020 (“fiscal 2020”) and is a 52-week fiscal year. Fiscal 2019 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 inventory valuation, impairment of long-lived assets, goodwill and tradenames, reserves for uncertain tax positions, leases and loss contingencies to be the most significant accounting policies that involve management estimates and judgments. Actual amounts could differ from those estimates, and such differences could be material.

Deferred Gift Card Revenue

The following table presents deferred gift card revenue activity:


In thousands	November 2, 2019		November 3, 2018
Balance, beginning of year	$	450,302	$	406,506
Deferred revenue	1,104,694		1,096,333
Effect of exchange rates changes on deferred revenue	(636)		(6,561)
Revenue recognized	(1,149,613)		(1,138,507)
Balance, end of period	$	404,747	$	357,771

TJX recognized $358.3 million in gift card revenue for the three months ended November 2, 2019 and $363.6 million for the three months ended November 3, 2018. 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.

Summary of Accounting Policies

Leases

We adopted ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), as of February 3, 2019, using the modified retrospective method under ASU 2018-11. The transition method allows entities to apply the transition requirements at the effective date rather than at the beginning of the earliest comparative period presented. Our reporting for comparative periods is presented in accordance with ASC 840, Leases. Adoption of the new standard resulted in the recording of right of use (“ROU”) assets and lease liabilities of approximately $9 billion, as of February 3, 2019. The Company elected the transition package of three practical expedients, which among other things, allowed us to carry forward the historical lease classification. We have elected, under Topic 842, the practical expedient to not separate non-lease components from the lease components to which they relate and instead to combine them and account for them as a single lease component. The Company also elected the accounting policy election to keep leases with a term of twelve months or less off the Consolidated Balance Sheets and recognizes these lease payments on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

Operating leases are included in "Operating lease right of use assets", "Current portion of operating lease liabilities", and "Long-term operating lease liabilities" on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. ROU assets represent our right to use an underlying asset for the lease term and lease liabilities represent our obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. At the inception of the arrangement, the Company determines if an arrangement is a lease based on assessment of the terms and conditions of the contract. Operating lease ROU assets and lease liabilities are recognized at possession date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term. The majority of our leases are retail store locations and the possession date is typically 30 to 60 days prior to the opening of the store and generally occurs before the commencement of the lease term, as specified in the lease. Our lessors do not provide an implicit rate, nor is one readily available, therefore we use our incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at possession date in determining the present value of future lease payments. The incremental borrowing rate is calculated based on the US Consumer Discretionary yield curve and adjusted for collateralization and foreign currency impact for TJX International and Canada leases. The operating lease ROU asset also includes any acquisition costs offset by lease incentives. Our lease terms include options to extend the lease when it is reasonably certain that we will exercise that option. Lease expense for lease payments is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term within "Cost of sales, including buying and occupancy costs".

Impact of New Lease Standard on Consolidated Balance Sheet Line Items

As a result of applying the new lease standard using the optional transition method, the following adjustments were made to accounts on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet as of February 3, 2019:


In thousands	As Reported February 2, 2019		Adjustments			Adjusted February 3, 2019
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS:
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	$	513,662	$	(149,029)	^(a)	$	364,633
Net property at cost	5,255,208		(281,361)		^(b),(f)	4,973,847
Operating lease right of use asset	—		8,704,584		^(c)	8,704,584
Other assets	497,580		(30,086)		^(b)	467,494
Total Assets	$	14,326,029	$	8,244,108		$	22,570,137

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities	2,733,076		(3,819)			2,729,257
Current portion of operating lease liabilities	—		1,481,555		^(d)	1,481,555
Other long-term liabilities	1,354,242		(593,137)		^(e),(f)	761,105
Long-term operating lease liabilities	—		7,359,106		^(d)	7,359,106
Retained earnings	4,461,744		403		^(f),(g)	4,462,147
Total Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity	$	14,326,029	$	8,244,108		$	22,570,137

(a)Represents prepaid rent reclassified to operating lease right of use assets and current portion of operating lease liabilities.

(b)Represents impact of reclassifying initial direct costs to operating lease right of use assets.

(c)Represents capitalization of operating lease right of use assets and reclassification of lease acquisition costs, straight-line rent, prepaid rent and tenant incentives.

(d)Represents recognition of current and long-term operating lease liabilities.

(e)Represents reclassification of straight-line rent to operating lease right of use assets.

(f)Represents de-recognition of assets and liabilities related to non-TJX owned properties under previously existing build-to-suit accounting rules.

(g)Represents impairment at transition on operating lease right of use assets.

See Note L—Leases of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information.

Recently Adopted Accounting Standards

Leases

See Leases in this Note A for the impact upon adoption.

Intangibles-Goodwill and Other-Internal-Use Software

In August 2018, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued guidance related to accounting for implementation costs incurred in a cloud computing arrangement that is a service contract. The standard allows entities who are customers in hosting arrangements that are service contracts to apply the existing internal-use software guidance to determine which implementation costs to capitalize as an asset related to the service contract and which costs to expense. The guidance specifies classification for capitalizing implementation costs and related amortization expense within the Consolidated Financial Statements and requires additional disclosures. The Company early adopted the standard prospectively in the third quarter of fiscal 2020. The standard did not have a material impact on our Consolidated Financial Statements.

Subsequent Events

Investment in Familia

On November 18, 2019, the Company, through a wholly owned subsidiary, completed an investment of $225 million for a 25% ownership stake in privately held Familia, an established, off-price apparel and home fashions retailer with more than 275 stores throughout Russia. The Company's investment represents a non-controlling, minority position. As part of this investment, TJX has the right to appoint one member to the Board of Directors of Familia.

The investment will be accounted for under the equity method of accounting from the date of investment forward. TJX will report its share of Familia’s results on a one-quarter lag as their results are not expected to be available in time to be recorded in the concurrent period.