If you haven't purchased shares of The TJX Companies (NYSE: TJX), and can tolerate moderate risk, now's the time to establish a position to have a chance at outsized gains.

Off-price family apparel and home fashion retailer TJX (operator of the T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods chains) is poised to gain market share in the era of the frugal consumer.

TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TJX) -- parent of T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, Home Goods, and other stores in which budget-conscious fashionistas scramble for bargains -- demonstrated that it is budget-minded as well today when it reported its latest quarterly earnings figures.

The company's first-quarter profit rose 8% on a year-over-year basis to $209.2 million, or 49 cents per share. Overall sales ticked up 1% to $4.35 billion, while same-store sales rose 2%. Earnings numbers were roughly on par with Street estimates, while sales were slightly ahead of the mark -- analysts were expecting per-share results of 49 cents on $4.32 billion in sales.

When you think about retail stocks, which ones come to mind? For me, Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) and Target (NYSE: TGT) are at the top of the list. I think it has to do with the powerful brand equity that both possess. That, and they receive a lot of press between them. Honestly, I don't think of TJX (NYSE: TJX) as being in that league. I don't shop at T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, or any of the company's brands. I don't know many people who do.

But I thought I would take a look at the retailer's latest earnings report to see how it was doing. Unfortunately, there was nothing too impressive about the numbers. It wasn't disastrous or anything like that, it just didn't convince me that more due diligence was necessary.

For the fiscal third quarter, diluted earnings per share on an adjusted basis dropped two pennies to $0.54. The bottom line met results. Excluding the effect of currency exchange, same-store sales rose 1%. Not that great, really. Plus, the outlook from management was cautious, as one might expect. I will give TJX credit for its cash-flow statement: there was a nice increase in the amount of cash the company generated from operations for the thirty-nine-week period.

Update Nov. 26, 2008: See all 2008 Black Friday deals.

This week, some apparel and accessory producers and retailers offer a look at how they've been doing between early summer's economic stimulus spending and the coming holiday season. While Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. (NYSE: RL) reported higher earnings last week, Coldwater Creek Inc. (NASDAQ: CWTR), Eddie Bauer Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: EBHI), Kenneth Cole Productions Inc. (NYSE: KCP), and K-Swiss Inc. (NASDAQ: KSWS) all reported net losses as consumers pulled back on spending over the summer due to higher fuel prices and other economic worries. The expectations of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial for such companies scheduled to report this week don't look much different; i.e., a bright spot or two among lower expectations overall.

Hip retailer Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) is expected to post earnings 22.9% higher than a year ago, to $0.35 per share, on revenue of $475.9 million (+26.4%). The Philadelphia-based company already said that same-store sales in the quarter were 10% higher. Urban Outfitters has beat expectations in recent quarters, by 11.5% in the previous quarter, and analysts on average recommend buying URBN. Shares fell to a 52-week low of $16.61 per share on Friday, and are down 29.5% from a year ago. Other companies expected to report more modest earnings growth in the coming week include watch and accessory maker Fossil Inc. (NASDAQ: FOSL), retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT), and TJX Companies Inc. (NYSE: TJX), parent of such discount retail chains as T.J. Maxx and Marshalls. These three companies have tended to top analysts estimates in recent quarters, and Fossil and TJX ended the week near their 52-week lows.

While Los Angeles-based American Apparel Inc. (AMEX: APP) had a strong second quarter, the casual wear maker is expected to report $0.13 per share earnings for the third quarter, the same as in the year-ago period. And analysts anticipate that Kohl's Corp. (NYSE: KSS) will report that profits fell 16.4% to $0.51 per share on revenue of $3.9 billion (+1.9%). Though same-store sales for October fell 9%, the Menomonee Falls, Wis.-based company reaffirmed its third-quarter forecast. Kohl's has offered positive surprises in recent quarters, topping estimates by 5.6% in the previous quarter. The consensus recommendation remains to buy KSS. Shares have been climbing after reaching a 52-week low in late October, but are still down 32.8% from a year ago.