Ask TJX Companies CEO Ernie Herrman about the availability of quality off-price merchandise, and he’ll likely hit you with some kind of superlative: “Terrific,” “outstanding,” “exceptional.” He deployed all of these in the company’s most recent earnings call to emphasize that the getting is good when it comes to product availability.

The parent company of TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods has long been a repository for excess inventory, but lately it’s benefitting from an especially strong secondary market for branded merchandise, which is essential to its stores’ vaunted “treasure hunt” experience, Herrman said.

“We are going after brands in a more aggressive manner than we also have ever had before,” Herrman said in the company’s Q4 earnings call earlier this month. “We mean more to the branded vendor community than ever.”

Availability is so good that TJX is telling its 1,400 buyers to slow their roll, which is giving TJX “great confidence that we will have plenty of access to goods going forward,” Hermann said.

What’s behind this surfeit of quality goods is a combination of excess inventory, increased closeouts, and liquidations—and by extension more buying opportunities—and a greater acceptance on the part of brands to move their goods into off-price channels.

Keep reading here.—AV

It turns out that when Morrissey sang he “would go out tonight,” but he didn’t have a “stitch to wear,” his closet may have been overflowing.

That’s the takeaway from a new report from Vestiaire Collective, the Paris-based luxury resale platform, and WRÅD, a consulting and creative agency. They polled European and US consumers about how often they experienced the feeling of “got nothing to wear” (their acronym: GNTW), and set about to interrogate and debunk the sentiment.

While 32.7% of respondents experienced GNTW on a weekly or more frequent basis, nearly twice as many (57.3%) respondents aged 18–24 did.

Having a larger wardrobe, paradoxically, can intensify the feeling. The nothing-to-wear feeling occurs on a weekly-plus basis for ~6% of those with wardrobes of fewer than 50 items, for ~22% of those with wardrobes of 50–100 items, and for ~26% of those with 100–300 items.

Keep reading here.—AAN

On Wednesdays, we wear pink spotlight Retail Brew’s readers. Want to be featured in an upcoming edition? Click here to introduce yourself.

Alissa Miky is founder and CEO of marine plant beverage brand OoMee.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in retail? I like to say that my job is part scientist, part storyteller, and part taste tester. At OoMee, that means taking a centuries-old Japanese wellness secret and turning it into a joyful, modern beverage. My job is to bridge cultures, build a brand that makes people feel special, and make sure every touchpoint, from flavor to packaging to retail experience, sparks curiosity and delight.

One thing we can’t guess about your job from your LinkedIn profile? Most people see “Founder and CEO of a seaweed-tech company” on my LinkedIn and assume my work is all product development and retail strategy. What they don’t see is that a surprising part of my job involves moving between completely different worlds from deep scientific conversations about marine polysaccharides and agar’s physiological effects, to high-level brand storytelling as a former national TV anchor with 15 million viewers. Another unexpected layer: I also support Formula 1 Japan as a promoter, helping with sponsorship strategy and hospitality experiences.

What’s your favorite project you’ve worked on? I’ve lived many lives—newscaster, Formula 1 promoter, marketer—but OoMee is the project that feels like my soul’s work. It came from one of the darkest chapters of my life, when I was navigating a mental and physical health crisis and looking for something that could help me feel grounded again. Rediscovering the marine ingredients I grew up with in Japan, and realizing how powerful they could be for modern American wellness needs, was a turning point.

Keep reading here.—EC

Major retailers are shifting prices more than ever, with the US leading globally in price changes. Explore how the strategy is spreading—and why state lawmakers are pushing back.