TJX, Costco best positioned to buy competitors

By Chelsea Emery

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Discount retailers, including TJX Companies Inc (TJX.N), are best positioned to buy distressed competitors, assume leases or expand into new concepts as the weakening economy takes its toll on several troubled retail companies, said Hilco's Nina Kampler on Wednesday.

"TJX is great, Burlington Coat is great, Costco Wholesale Corp (COST.O)is great," said Kampler, an executive vice president in liquidator Hilco's real estate division. "These retailers that I'm naming are an example of the value retailers who are in a position to assume some of these more distressed, troubled retailers and perhaps they become part of their different concepts."

Kampler was speaking at the Reuters Restructuring Summit in New York.

"Value-oriented chains that are still reporting (strong) comparable-store sales may be the ones to assume the leases that are being rejected or terminated by troubled retailers," she said.

Several retailers including home goods company Linens 'n Things and apparel chain Steve & Barry's have filed for bankruptcy protection this year as higher energy and food prices have forced consumers to cut back spending.

Shares of TJX closed at $31.18 and shares of Costco closed at $64.79 on Wednesday.

(Editing by Bernard Orr)

(For summit blog: summitnotebook.reuters.com/)