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Kohl's

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This article is about the department store. For other uses, see Kohl.

Kohl's Corporation
Company typePublic
IndustryRetail
FoundedSeptember 12, 1962 (62 years ago) (1962-09-12), in Brookfield, Wisconsin, U.S.
FounderMaxwell Kohl
HeadquartersMenomonee Falls, Wisconsin, U.S.
Number of locations
1,174 (Feb. 2024)[1]
Key people
Tom Kingsbury (CEO & director)
ProductsClothing, footwear, jewelry, accessories, beauty products, furniture, decor, bedding, bath, toys, books, appliances, electronics, and housewares.
Websitewww.kohls.com

Kohl's (stylized in all caps) is an American department store retail chain, operated by Kohl's Corporation. It currently has 1,165 locations, operating stores in every U.S. state except Hawaii. The company was founded by Polish immigrant Maxwell Kohl, who opened a corner grocery store in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1927.[2][3] It went on to become a successful chain in the local area, and in 1962 the company branched out by opening its first department store.[4] British American Tobacco Company took a controlling interest in the company in 1972 while still managed by the Kohl Family, and in 1979, the corporation was sold to BATUS Inc. A group of investors purchased the company in 1986 from British American Tobacco and took it public in 1992.

Kohl's is headquartered in the Milwaukee suburb of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.[5] It became the largest department store chain in the United States in May 2012, surpassing its competitor JCPenney.[6] The company is listed on both the S&P 400 and the Fortune 500.[7] In terms of revenue, the chain was the 23rd-largest retailer in the United States in 2019.[8]

As of February 2023, the CEO of Kohl's was Tom Kingsbury, who accepted the position after serving on an interim basis since December 2022. He replaced Michelle Gass once she took a position with Levi Strauss.[2] In November 2024, the company announced a CEO transition with Ashley Buchanan replacing Tom Kingsbury starting January 15, 2025.[9]

History

[edit]
See also: Kohl's Food Stores
The exterior of a typical Kohl's department store in Beaverton, Oregon.

Maxwell Kohl, who had operated traditional grocery stores since 1927, built his first supermarket in 1946, the first in what would become a southeastern Wisconsin chain known as Kohl's Food Stores.[10] In September 1962, after building Kohl's Food Stores into the largest supermarket chain in the Milwaukee area, Kohl opened his first department store in Brookfield, Wisconsin. He positioned Kohl's between the higher-end department stores and the discounters, selling everything from candy to engine oil to sporting equipment.

In 1972, the British American Tobacco Company's U.S. retail division, Batus Inc., bought a controlling interest in Kohl's Corporation, which at the time operated 50 grocery stores, six department stores, three drug stores, and three liquor stores.[11][12] The Kohl family, led by Allen Kohl and Herb Kohl, continued to manage the company. Herb Kohl left the management in 1979,[13] eventually becoming a United States senator and owner of the Milwaukee Bucks. The firm then expanded Kohl's presence from 10 to 39 stores in Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana. The grocery stores were sold to A&P in 1983,[14][15] operating under the name Kohl's Food Store, and later Kohl's Food Emporium. In February 2003, A&P put the Kohl's Food Stores up for sale,[16] as part of an effort to reduce debt. That same year, A&P closed all Kohl's Food Stores locations and the Kohl family left remaining management.[17][18]

A group of investors, led by the senior management, purchased the company in 1986.[19] Building on the existing 40 department stores, the company added 27 more stores over the next two years. In 1988, the chain acquired 26 locations from the Chicago-based retailer MainStreet, gaining several stores in Chicago's suburbs, the Twin Cities, and Michigan.[20][21] Kohl's completed its initial public offering on May 19, 1992, and began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol KSS.[22][23]

Kohl's in Huntington Beach, California (formerly The Broadway)

During the 2000s, Kohl's expanded nationwide to 49 states. Building from 76 stores in the Midwest in 1992, Kohl's expanded into the New York metropolitan area in 2000 after Caldor was liquidated.[24] The chain later expanded into the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, California in 2003 with 28 new stores, the Pacific Northwest in 2006 with 10 new stores, and the Southeast with 43 new stores opening between 2005 and 2008.[25] To raise money to repurchase its stock and open new stores, Kohl's sold its credit card division in 2006 to J.P. Morgan Chase for $1.5 billion.[26] In 2011, Kohl's replaced Chase with Capital One as their private credit card processing partner for an undisclosed sum.[27] In 2016, Kohl's added the Capital One backed private label Kohl's Card to the Kohl's App to create Kohl's Pay - the first integrated mobile checkout solution for a retailer in US, combining Kohl's Card, Kohl's Cash, Kohl's Yes-2-You Rewards and Kohl's coupons into a single QR Code Payment, with technology powered by Omnyway, Inc (né OmnyPay),[28] a Silicon Valley startup.[29][30] That same year, Kohl's became the first retailer to include Kohl's Card and Kohl's Rewards in one tap payments with Apple Pay.[31][32]

Kohl's hired New York City advertising agency DeVito/Verdi in 2009 to strengthen the Kohl's brand via a series of national television, online, and social media campaigns.[33] The same year, Newsweek magazine ranked the company 18th overall and first in its industry in its "Green Rankings",[34] an examination of 500 of the largest corporations on their environmental track records. Newsweek remarked that Kohl's had the largest solar power program of any retailer globally, it pursues green building certification, and over 78 locations in six states have solar panels. Kohl's had also begun to sell reusable shopping bags the previous year.[35]

Kohl's was awarded $62.5 million in tax credits from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation in 2012. The retailer was to create 3,000 jobs with the funds, but only created 473.[36] In the same year, Kohl's requested financing from the village of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, to fund the construction of its new headquarters there. Kohl's received $2 million, the first of five installments that was to equal a total payout of $12 million, but ultimately backed out of the transaction.[37]

In 2015, the company opened the first test store of Off/Aisle, a chain built around selling like-new clothing, home goods, jewelry, and accessories that were purchased and returned at Kohl's stores. The stores sold items at discounted prices, and had a more restrictive return policy than typical Kohl's stores.[38] The Off/Aisle stores were ultimately closed in 2019.[39]

In early January 2017, Kohl's shares fell 19% in value, in what The Wall Street Journal said was "the stock's worst day on record," and noted that it was a noticeable exception to the overall declining volatility of the market.[40] The company ranked 157th on the 2018 Fortune 500, the annual list of the largest United States corporations, having earned revenues of $19.095 billion in 2017.[41] In that year, Kohl's entered into a partnership with Amazon, which included a program where select stores would accept Amazon returns; in 2019 it was expanded nationwide.[42] In 2018, Kohl's announced a pilot program to lease space to grocer Aldi and, the following year, to fitness center Planet Fitness, alongside up to 10 stores each.[43]

On March 16, 2022, it was announced that Hudson's Bay Company and Sycamore Partners were considering bids to buy Kohl's, which its shares jumped 17%.[44] On April 25, 2022, it was announced that Simon Property Group and Brookfield Asset Management, the owners of JCPenney, had set an offer to buy Kohl's.[45] In June 2022, the Franchise Group considered making a bid for the ownership of Kohl's which might result in the sale of the real estate that Kohl's owns to fund the acquisition by the Franchise Group.[46][47] Kohl's ultimately withdrew from the deal after Franchise Group lowered their bid for the company after finding out that Kohl's had downgraded its outlook for the second fiscal quarter for the company as a result of "softer consumer spending amid decades-high inflation".[48]

Despite declining sales of furniture and home goods (the 6.3% decline in February 2024 was the 12th consecutive quarter of decline) Kohl's is enlarging its home assortment by 40% in March 2024.[49]

In 2024, Kohl's struck a deal with Babies R Us to add baby supplies, furniture, Graco, Carter's, Fisher-Price and other brands.[50]

Brands and store layout

[edit]

Kohl's store brands include diffusion lines from high-end designers such as Dana Buchman, Vera Wang,[51] Narciso Rodriguez,[52] and Peter Som.[53] Celebrities such as Avril Lavigne, Lauren Conrad, Daisy Fuentes, Paula DeAnda, Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears, Marc Anthony, and Tony Hawk have sold branded clothing exclusively through Kohl's.[54]

Kohl's private brands generate nearly half of the firm's $19 billion in annual sales. These include in-house clothing brands such as American Beauty, Apt. 9, Croft & Barrow, Jumping Beans, So, Tek Gear, and Urban Pipeline. The Sonoma Goods for Life brand of apparel and home goods alone is worth over a billion dollars, and Kohl's announced relaunch plans for the brand in 2016.[55] Kohl's has also purchased the exclusive retail rights to existing brands such as Candie's and Mudd Jeans.

In 2021, Kohl's made a deal with makeup retailer Sephora, to have certain Kohl's locations have Sephora stores inside of the stores. This is a move to replace their in-house beauty selection.[56]

In 2024, Haus Labs by Lady Gaga announced that they had joined the Sephora at Kohl’s assortment.[57]

Kohl's uses a "racetrack" layout with a single aisle that circles the entire store, a layout borrowed from discount stores.[58]

References

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  1. ^ "KOHLS Corp 2023 Annual Report (Form 10-K)" (PDF). U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. February 3, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Max Kohl". NNDB. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  3. ^ "The Immigrant Learning Center » Kohl". Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  4. ^ "Kohl's 50th Anniversary Sale Round-up + Coupon & Kohl's Cash - AL.com". blog.al.com. September 12, 2012. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  5. ^ Kohl's Corporation – Consensus Indicates Potential 45.0% Upside, Kohl's, 2021, archived from the original on October 28, 2021, retrieved October 14, 2021
  6. ^ "Kohl's Corporation SEC 10K/A Filing". Kohl's. September 13, 2011. Archived from the original on July 24, 2018.
  7. ^ "Fortune 500 2012: Fortune 1000 Companies 101-200". CNN.
  8. ^ "Top 100 Retailers (2012)". National Retail Federation. Archived from the original on July 13, 2014.
  9. ^ "Kohl's Announces CEO Transition Process". Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  10. ^ Daykin, Tom (June 13, 2002). "1st Kohl's supermarket to be next Lena's". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on June 28, 2002.
  11. ^ Stafford, Roger A. (October 28, 1972). "Kohl Buyer Provides Backing for Growth". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 6, Part 2 – via Google News.
  12. ^ "Control of Kohl Corp. Sold To British-American Unit". The Wall Street Journal. October 30, 1972. p. 15. ProQuest 133697361. Archived from the original on October 7, 2016. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  13. ^ "Kohl Family to Drop Ties to the Kohl Unit Of BAT Industries Ltd". Wall Street Journal. May 2, 1979. p. 41. ProQuest 134433809. Archived from the original on October 7, 2016. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  14. ^ "A. & P. to Acquire Kohl's From Batus". The New York Times. August 16, 1983.
  15. ^ "Batus Food unit acquired by A&P". WWD. Vol. 146, no. 63. September 29, 1983. p. 8. ProQuest 1445624941. A&P Wednesday finalized its purchase of Kohl Food Stores, Milwaukee-based division of Batus Retail Division.
  16. ^ "Local Kohl's Food Stores up for sale; Copps buys Madison stores". Milwaukee Business Journal. February 25, 2003.
  17. ^ Kohl's Q4 2013 FactBook. Kohl's. p. 6. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
  18. ^ "A&P to close area Kohl's Food Stores". Milwaukee Business Journal. June 13, 2003.
  19. ^ "Kohl's 'Driving Force' On the Road to Buyout". The New York Times. May 26, 1986.
  20. ^ "Campeau Sells Unit to Kohl's". The New York Times. October 29, 1988.
  21. ^ Randle, Wilma (February 22, 1989). "Kohl's to expand MainStreet". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
  22. ^ "Investor Relations - FAQ". Kohl's. Archived from the original on May 25, 2014. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
  23. ^ "Kohl's Corporation Announces Initial Public Offering Of Common Stock". PR Newswire (Press release). May 19, 1992. Archived from the original on October 7, 2016. Retrieved October 1, 2016 – via The Free Library.
  24. ^ Vizard, Mary McAleer (March 28, 1999). "In the Region/Westchester; Caldor Closings Bring Newcomers, Including Kmart". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  25. ^ Kohl's Q4 2013 FactBook. Kohl's. May 24, 2014. p. 11.
  26. ^ "Kohl's Agrees to Sell Credit Card Business". The New York Times. March 7, 2006.
  27. ^ Douglas, Danielle (April 10, 2011). "Capital One wins deal to back Kohl's credit cards". The Washington Post.
  28. ^ "Payments News and Analysis | Payments Dive". www.paymentsdive.com.
  29. ^ "Kohls Pay Launch News Release.Final.pdf" (PDF). corporate.kohls.com. October 5, 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  30. ^ "Kohl's rolls out its own mobile payments platform, Kohl's Pay". October 5, 2016.
  31. ^ "Kohl's integrates loyalty rewards with Apple Pay". Retail Dive.
  32. ^ "Kohl's Charge and Yes2You Rewards Now Easy as One Tap in Apple Pay". www.businesswire.com. May 4, 2016.
  33. ^ O'Leary, Noreen (November 28, 2012). "Kohl's Confirms Media Agency Review". Adweek. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
  34. ^ McGinn, Daniel (September 21, 2009). "Greenest Big Companies in America – The 2009 List". Newsweek. Archived from the original on June 25, 2010. Retrieved July 21, 2010.
  35. ^ "Green Ranking- Kohl's". Newsweek. Archived from the original on September 25, 2009. Retrieved July 21, 2010.
  36. ^ DeFour, Matthew (June 20, 2015). "WEDC made 27 awards totaling $124.4 million without proper review". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
  37. ^ Daykin, Tom (November 21, 2013). "Kohl's drops plans for new headquarters building". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
  38. ^ Romell, Rick (May 20, 2015). "Kohl's will test off-priced store for returned merchandise". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
  39. ^ "Kohl's to close its discount stores after 4 years in operation". www.msn.com. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
  40. ^ Kuriloff, Aaron (January 22, 2017). "How Often Does a Stock Fall 19% in One Day? Not Very Often". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
  41. ^ "Fortune 500 Companies 2018: Who Made the List". Fortune. Archived from the original on November 10, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  42. ^ Thomas, Lauren (April 23, 2019). "Kohl's is going to accept Amazon returns in all of its stores across the country, starting in July". CNBC. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  43. ^ Meyerson, Nathaniel (March 5, 2019). "Kohl's is shrinking stores and leasing out the extra space to Planet Fitness". CNN Business. CNN.
  44. ^ Thomas, Lauren (March 16, 2022). "Kohl's shares jump 17% after reports say Hudson's Bay, Sycamore are preparing bids". CNBC. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  45. ^ Stein, Sanford. "Simon and Brookfield Pursue Kohl's to Join Rival J.C. Penney". Forbes. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  46. ^ Thomas, Lauren (June 9, 2022). "Here's why Vitamin Shoppe's owner wants to buy Kohl's – and what could happen next". CNBC.
  47. ^ Lesk, Sari (June 8, 2022). "Real estate key factor as Kohl's, Franchise Group negotiate potential sale". Milwaukee Business Journal.
  48. ^ Thomas, Lauren (June 30, 2022). "Kohl's ends sale talks with Franchise Group, lowers outlook". CNBC.
  49. ^ "Kohl's expands home goods assortment by 40%". Retaildive. March 19, 2024.
  50. ^ "Babies R Us is coming to about 200 Kohl's stores". CNBC. March 12, 2024.
  51. ^ "Vera Wang to design line just for Kohl's". USA Today. The Associated Press. August 24, 2006.
  52. ^ Wong, Jada. "Narciso Rodriguez Is Doing A Diffusion Line For Kohl's". Styleite.com. Archived from the original on April 22, 2014. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  53. ^ Leibowitz, Laura (September 6, 2013). "Peter Som Kohl's Line Will Be The Next Fast-Fashion Collab To Get All Our Money". The Huffington Post.
  54. ^ "Not A Drill: Lauren Conrad Launched Her First Swim Collection". Retrieved September 28, 2017.
  55. ^ Wahba, Phil (March 10, 2016). "Kohl's Stakes its Turnaround on Relaunch of Top House Brand". Fortune. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
  56. ^ Denton, Jack. "Kohl's Stock Plunged After a Double-Downgrade. Blame Supply-Chain Issues". www.barrons.com. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
  57. ^ "Haus Labs by Lady Gaga enters Sephora at Kohl's shelves". Drug Store News. August 26, 2024. Retrieved August 28, 2024.
  58. ^ Epmeier, Bill (June 2, 2009). "A 'racetrack:' would it work for supermarkets? | Store Equipment & Design | Find Articles at BNET". Findarticles.com. Archived from the original on September 11, 2009. Retrieved October 9, 2009.
[edit]
  • Business data for Kohl's:
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