FRAMINGHAM, Mass., Jan. 18 (UPI) -- The parent company of U.S. department stores Marshalls and T.J. Maxx said Thursday a large amount of customer data were stolen from its computer system.
A TJX Cos. spokeswoman would not say how many customers were affected by the breach or where they were located.
The company owns stores -- also including A.J. Wright, Bob's Stores, HomeGoods, HomeSense, T.K. Maxx and Winners -- in the United States, Canada and Britain.
TJX "suffered an unauthorized intrusion into our computer systems that process and store information related to customer transactions," TJX Chairman and acting Chief Executive Ben Cammarata said in a letter on the TJX Web site.
TJX set up a customer hotline and posted advice on its Web site on checking credit records. It also hired General Dynamics Corp. and IBM Corp. to upgrade its security system, the company said.
The break-in was discovered a month ago, but kept confidential until Thursday at the request of law enforcement officials, the company said.
TJX shares closed at $29.50, down 13 cents or 0.44 percent, on the New York Stock Exchange.
