It's a firm favourite on the UK high street thanks to its quality products at low prices - but people are only just realising why TK Maxx goes by a different name in America. Founded by Bernard Cammarata, TJ Maxx has more than 1,000 stores in the US, making it one of the largest clothes retailers in the country.
It sells everything from clothes, shoes and accessories to health and beauty items, electronics, homeware and pet products. Since opening doors in Framingham, Massachusetts, in 1976, it has branched out overseas opening stores in the UK, Ireland, Australia, Germany, Poland, Austria and the Netherlands.
But when doing so, it decided to use a different name - TK Maxx - rather than its original TJ Maxx, leaving shoppers scratching their head at this decision. One confused Reddit user said: "Why in America is it called TJ Maxx and in the UK it is called TK Maxx?"
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It turns out the company modified its name to prevent it from being confused with T.J. Hughes, another high street store with no affiliation with TJ Maxx. So, when its first international store opened in Bristol in 1994, shoppers could easily identify it as a new store adding to their high street.
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Commenting on this revelation, one user said: "Well, that explains why I don't know what TJ Maxx is." Another user added: "[I thought] it was due to Europeans having more of an issue with J sounds? I remember a few years back Jif changing to Cif because of this."
A third user said: "I was today years old when I found out they're the same store." It comes after 7-Eleven customers spotted a 'peculiarity' in its logo. The global brand, which was established in 1927 under the name Tote'm stores, has changed its logo 13 times, with its latest revamp in 2021.
Its logo shows the number '7' written in orange and red with the word 'Eleven' cutting through it in green. However, the 'N' in 'Eleven' is typed in lowercase while the other five letters are in uppercase. According to a 7-Eleven spokesperson, the retailer likely designed its logo with a lowercase 'n' on purpose, believing it looks nicer on the eye.
It has been reported that the wife of former president Joe C. Thompson thought a capitalised 'N' was "too harsh" and therefore convinced her husband to swap it out with its lowercase letter for the 1968 redesign. A 7-Eleven spokesperson told Reader's Digest : "One theory is that Thompson's wife thought the logo seemed a little harsh with all capital letters and suggested that the capital 'n' be changed to lowercase so the logo would look more graceful."
Ever since then, the logo has featured a lowercase 'n' at the end of the word 'Eleven', sticking with this style choice for its following five redesigns. A social media user said: "Never noticed it at all myself. New one opening a mile from my house this month; will check." Another user added: "As a graphic design student … this bothers me." One more said: "This is almost as bad as the lower case 'e' in the Home Alone title."
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