TJX CEO: Online Shopping in Company's Future [Poll]

is re-looking at online shopping as part of its business plan, it told investors Wednesday.

TJX, a late arrival to online retail in the U.S., plans to work hard to become a significant force in the space, Meyrowitz said on a call with investors.

“E-commerce is clearly in our future,” CEO Carol Meyrowitz said in an earnings call with analysts Wednesday. “We continue to see e-commerce as a major opportunity for TJX. We see it as a marriage between our stores and the Web.”

plans to leverage its $23 billion in annual brick-and-mortar sales and its 700-plus-strong merchant organization to make the leap, reported the Boston Herald.

“We expect to offer outrageous value and utilize our flexibility,” Meyrowitz said. “We believe e-commerce will open up a greater landscape for categories. Just think about the potential for us to carry categories online that we wouldn’t carry in our stores.”

, the parent company of , and headquartered in Framingham, would not reveal a timetable for its online launch, when contacted.

TJX tried an e-commerce business in 2006.

TJX’s websites average more than 4 million visits each month in aggregate, even without selling merchandise online in the United States.

TJX appeals to budget-minded consumers, mainly women.

While online shopping is popular with both sexes, almost three-fourths of women (72%) and more than two-thirds of men (68%) having shopped online, reported a Nielsen Company survey.

Women led most online purchase categories, with clothing, shoes and accessories topping that list.

For the quarter ended Jan. 28, TJX reported a profit of $475.3 million, or 62 cents a share, up from $334.4 million, or 42 cents a share, a year earlier. The year-earlier period included 11 cents in charges related to the closing of its A.J. Wright business. The latest results reflect the company's recent two-for-one stock split.