10 Things You Didn’t Know about TJX CEO Ernie Herrman
Ernie Herrman is the current CEO of The TJX Companies. As such, he has provided a respectable performance with the result that The TJX Companies has been seeing consistent success in recent years. Currently, Herrman seems to have an eye on expanding his corporation’s presence in its markets, but it remains to be seen what the future will bring in regards to those expansion efforts. Here are 10 things that you may or may not have known about Ernie Herrman:
1. Ernie Became Popular in England in the 18th Century
Ernie is a nickname for Ernest. Since Ernest has Earnest as a variant spelling, it should come as no surprise to learn that it comes from the Germanic eornost, which translates to something along the lines of “serious.” It is interesting to note that Ernest didn’t become popular in England and thus the rest of the English-speaking world until the House of Hanover was chosen to become the new British royal family in the 18th century.
2. Herrman Is a Very Old Name
Herrman is a variant of Herman, which is a very old name indeed. In fact, there was a time when Germans translated Arminius of the Cherusci to Hermann der Cheruskerfürst, though this is incorrect because Arminius comes from a different stem. Regardless, Herman comes from harja and mann, which when combined, translates to something along the lines of “army man.”
3. Head of The TJX Companies
Currently, Herrman is both the CEO and President of The TJX Companies. For those who are unfamiliar with that name, The TJX Companies is a corporation that operates off-price department stores through a number of store chains in both the United States and other countries. In total, The TJX Companies oversees more than 3,300 stores, meaning that its presence is considerable to say the least.
4. Became CEO in 2016
Herrman rose to the position of CEO of The TJX Companies in January of 2016. As for his other titles, he became President in January of 2011 as well as Director in October of 2015.
5. Has Held Previous Positions at The TJX Companies
With that said, Herrman has held other executive positions at The TJX Companies before he managed to rise to the position of President in January of 2011. For instance, he served as the Senior Executive Vice President from August of 2008 to January of 2011. As a result, it can be said that Herrman is an example of a CEO who rose to his current position by climbing the ranks of his corporation.
6. Has Spent a Lot of Time at TJ Maxx
In particular, it is worth mentioning that Hermann has done a lot of work at TJ Maxx. In short, TJ Maxx is one of the store chains owned by The TJX Companies. Some people might confuse it with TK Maxx, which is another store chain that operates in the United Kingdom as well as other countries beyond the United States. However, while both store chains are owned by The TJX Companies, TK Maxx was named thus because its parent corporation wanted to avoid confusion with the British retailer T.J. Hughes.
7. Started Out as a Buyer
Considering the sheer range of executive positions that he has held over time, it is interesting to note that Herrman started out as a buyer. In short, a buyer is responsible for buying the products carried by retailers. As a result, said individuals tend to have a fair amount of responsibility, seeing as how they are supposed to make sure that the products that they buy will actually be capable of selling.
8. Sees Opportunities Rather than Threats
In recent times, Herrman has been seeing opportunities rather than threats in the business environment. For example, when other store chains cancel their orders because of problems in the retail sector, that is a chance for The TJX Companies to pick up new merchandise at a lower price than otherwise possible.
9. Sees Potential for Expansion in Current International Markets
On a related note, Herrman has stated that he sees potential to open more stores in the international markets that The TJX Companies is already involved in. As far as he is concerned, there are gaps in coverage in those markets, which in turn, means plenty of opportunities for him to fill them.
10. Concerned about Buying Too Much Too Soon
With that said, while Herrman is focused on expanding, he isn’t reckless about it. In fact, he has stated that he is being careful not to buy too much too soon, which is always a problem for businesses.
