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The
announcement comes as the Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin-based chain
has posted 11 consecutive quarters of sales declines. Michaels
CEO and retail veteran Ashley Buchanan is set to take over as
the chief executive of Kohl's next week.
Buchanan will take over the top job from Tom Kingsbury, who will
stay as an adviser to the new CEO and retain his position on
Kohl’s board until his scheduled retirement in May. Kingsbury
served as Kohl’s interim CEO in December 2022 and was named its
permanent leader in February 2023.
Kohl's declined to disclose the number of employees affected. It
said workers have been informed and were offered a “competitive
severance package” or the chance to apply to other open roles at
Kohl’s. The stores identified for closure included 10 in
California.
“As we continue to build on our long-term growth strategy, it is
important that we also take difficult but necessary actions to
support the health and future of our business for our customers
and our teams," Kingsbury said in a statement.
U.S. department stores have had a challenging few years as
consumers continue to seek out deals online.
On Thursday, Macy's disclosed the locations of 66 stores that it
will be closing early this year, including one in a historic
landmark building in Philadelphia. The majority of these stores
will close during the company's first fiscal quarter of this
year, Macy's said.
The announcement is part of a strategy announced in February
2024, that calls for shuttering roughly 150 underproductive
stores while upgrading its remaining 350 stores through fiscal
2026. The closings come as Macy's is looking to improve its
sales as shoppers have pulled back on discretionary items amid
still high inflation.
In November, Macy's reported falling profit and sales in its
fiscal third quarter. It raised sales expectations for the
current fiscal year, but lowered profit projections.
The Macy’s stores set to close account for 25% of the company's
overall square footage but less than 10% of its sales, the
company had said.
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