TJ Maxx and TK Maxx are two different names for the same company. In the United States, the company is called TJ Maxx, while in Europe, the company is called TK Maxx. The reason for this difference in name is because the company was founded in the United Kingdom, and thus the name TK Maxx is more recognizable to European consumers.
TJ Maxx was founded in 1976 by Bernard Cammarata, who was also the founder of the Marshalls chain of department stores. Cammarata noticed that there was a demand for off-price retail stores, and so he decided to open TJ Maxx in order to fill this demand. The first TJ Maxx store was located in Framingham, Massachusetts, and it was successful enough that Cammarata decided to open more stores.
In 1983, TJMaxx expanded into Europe with its first store in Bristol, England. The company chose the name TK Maxx for its European stores in order to avoid any confusion with another retail chain called T J Hughes. TK Maxx was successful in Europe, and so the company decided to keep the name when it expanded into other countries such as Australia and New Zealand.
The reason why TJ Maxx is called TK Maxx in Europe is because the company originally started out in the United Kingdom. The name TK Maxx is more recognizable to European consumers than TJ Maxx, so the company decided to keep the name when it expanded into other countries.