Bernard Cammarata

Bernard Cammarata executed the radical 1987 restructuring of Zayre Corp that spun off the off-price division into The TJX Companies, recognizing that the future of retail lay in flexible, spot-market buying rather than traditional department store formats.

Bernard Cammarata joined Zayre Corp in the 1970s as a buyer and quickly rose through the ranks due to his deep understanding of the off-price apparel market. By 1985, he was named CEO of the struggling Zayre Corp, which was losing market share to Walmart and Target. Cammarata identified that the company’s experimental off-price chain, T.J. Maxx, was the only division showing consistent growth. In 1987, facing a liquidity crisis and pressure from activist investors, he executed a controversial restructuring that closed over 100 traditional Zayre department stores and spun off the off-price division into The TJX Companies. This pivotal decision saved the company and laid the foundation for its three-decade run of consistent revenue and earnings growth. Cammarata served as CEO of TJX until 1995, during which time the company acquired Marshalls and expanded its international footprint, establishing the decentralized buying model that remains the core of the company’s competitive advantage today.