A former TK Maxx employee has opened up about a 'secret' number system that the fashion giant employs.

The code tells customers if what they're looking at is a real bargain or something which was never in reality sold at a higher price.

Daniel Baker, who was once a senior merchandiser for the cut-price retailer, revealed the number shoppers should look for on labels. Daniel previously shared the hack on Channel 5 show TK Maxx: How do they do it?

In the show, former TK Maxx employees were interviewed about what goes on behind the closed doors of the hugely popular chain, as reported by the MEN.

During the programme, Daniel said: “On any label, you can see a number. The number that is really exciting to a customer is number two because that means it’s genuine stock that was sold at a higher price somewhere else. It’s excess stock or something like that.”

Daniel continued: “The main three codes you’ll see are one, two, and seven. One means produced for TK Maxx, two means it is a ‘close out buy’, so it’s stock that they’ve got at a deal, that is unsold from another brand.

"Seven is ‘packaway’ which means it’s been packed for a previous year, like Christmas crackers bought in January for the following year.

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“You can get good value for money on a type one. It could be that just the sheer volume they are producing means they can price it cheaper.

"For the real bargains you are looking for are a two and a seven for sure.

"That’s also part of the treasure hunt when I got into a store as I’m constantly going ‘oh that’s a type two, that’s a real bargain there.”

The documentary explains that the code is normally found on the right-hand side of the label, and is a single number without a zero in front of it.