New
I Shopped At Kohl's To See How Stores Are Taking 'aggressive Action' To Boost Plummeting Sales
Kohl's.
John Raoux / AP Images
- Sales at Kohl's fell in Q3, which CEO Tom Kingsbury called "frankly disappointing."
- I visited a Kohl's store in New Jersey to see how the chain plans to bounce back.
- The store's layout showed how Kohl's is centering its partnership with Sephora to boost sales.
In 2018, Kohl's was hailed as a "winner of the retail apocalypse," boasting strong sales over its struggling counterparts like Sears and JCPenney.
Now, Kohl's is feeling the strain. Its third-quarter earnings report found that net sales decreased 8.8% and comparable sales fell 9.3%.
"We are not satisfied with our performance in 2024 and are taking aggressive action to reverse the sales declines," CEO Tom Kingsbury said in the report.
Kingsbury also announced that he would step down as CEO effective January 15 and will be replaced by Ashley Buchanan, a Kohl's board member and CEO of Michael's.
I visited a Kohl's store ahead of the holidays in December, one of the busiest shopping seasons, to see what kind of "aggressive action" Kohl's was taking to boost sales.
Representatives for Kohl's did not respond to a request for comment.
At the Kohl's store I visited in Clifton, New Jersey, Sephora was prominently advertised with its own branded entrance.Kohl's.
Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
Kohl's has more than 1,100 locations in 49 states. While there are Kohl's stores in the greater New York City area, including in Brooklyn and Yonkers, there aren't any in Manhattan.
Kohl's announced its partnership with Sephora in 2020. By 2023, 910 Kohl's locations had added Sephora stores, and the retail chain built 140 more Sephora stores at Kohl's in 2024.
In 2023, Sephora sales at Kohl's totaled $1.4 billion, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. Sales are projected to hit $2 billion by 2025.
A sign advertised an ongoing customer appreciation event with extra sales.Sales at Kohl's.
Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
Kohl's Rewards members and Kohl's cardholders received extra discounts.
The entrance I chose led me into the juniors section, which was strategically located right in front of Sephora.The junior's section at Kohl's.
Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
The juniors section sold flared leggings, bralettes, and other styles popular with Gen Z.
Sephora seemed to serve as the centerpiece of the store with prominent placement in the middle of the aisles.A Sephora location at Kohl's.
Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
The Sephora was constructed like a store within a store, similar to smaller shops located in a mall.
With celebrity beauty brands laid out in colorful displays under bright lighting, I felt drawn into the small-format Sephora like a moth to a flame.Inside the Sephora at Kohl's.
Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
The aisles were full of makeup brands like Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty and Fenty Beauty by Rihanna.
An assortment of fine jewelry with lab-grown diamonds was displayed around the corner from Sephora.Jewelry at Kohl's.
Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
On a June earnings call, Kingsbury said the retailer had removed some jewelry from stores to make room for Sephora locations since jewelry sales had been steadily declining.
He said Kohl's planned to add more accessories like jewelry back into stores in time for the holidays and place them near Sephora in an effort to boost sales.
There were also cheaper jewelry options nearby, such as Lauren Conrad's LC line.Lauren Conrad's jewelry line at Kohl's.
Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
The items ranged between $7 and $15, while most of the fine jewelry items displayed nearby cost around $100.
I was impressed by the wide selection of dresses at Kohl's, ranging from office looks to black-tie gowns.Dresses at Kohl's.
Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
Kingsbury told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in September that Kohl's locations with more space for dresses were "performing better" than other locations.
To me, the black-tie dresses in particular made Kohl's feel more like a department store than a big-box retailer.
Kohl's featured inclusive sizing, with sections for women's plus size, women's petite, and men's big and tall.The big and tall men's section at Kohl's.
Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
Kohl's also carries a line of adaptive clothing designed for accessibility. I appreciated how the store catered to a wide customer base.
However, much of the store felt understated in comparison to Sephora.Flannel shirts at Kohl's.
Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
Women's flannel shirts were on sale for $24.99 — the same as they cost at Target, but more expensive than Walmart, where similar shirts cost between $5 and $15. I also didn't find the clothing displays particularly engaging compared to Sephora's luminous shelves and eye-catching photos.
The selection of home decor at Kohl's didn't seem as large as I've seen at big-box retailers like Walmart and Target.Home decor at Kohl's.
Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
The items were organized by color, which I found visually appealing. I also enjoyed the wooden roof displayed over the home decor section, which made it easy to spot and identify from a distance.
Kohl's Q3 earnings report found that home decor was a "key growth area" that experienced a "strong collective performance" despite the overall slump.
I was puzzled by a housewares section that featured aisles of slow cookers, vacuums, and suitcases next to each other.Housewares at Kohl's.
Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
Centering the juniors and jewelry sections around Sephora's beauty products made sense to me, but these items all seemed like they belonged in different parts of the store. Perhaps it was a space issue, or maybe Kohl's is still playing around with store layouts that drive more sales.
Kohl's hopes to replicate the success of its Sephora partnership through another partnership with Babies "R" Us.The Babies "R" Us baby registry at Kohl's.
Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
In October, Kohl's launched a digital baby registry service through Babies "R" Us to boost sales of baby gear, which has been a top seller.
On the Q3 earnings call, Kingsbury said that while Kohl's had "benefited" from opening Babies "R" Us shops in 200 stores, these additions were still "unable to offset the declines in our core business."
In a section titled "The Toy Box," boxes of Hot Wheels tracks, Lego sets, and Mr. Potato Heads were piled on the floor.Toys at Kohl's.
Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
This could have been a stylistic choice, but it did make me think of Business Insider senior correspondent Emily Stewart's piece about how store aisles crowded with boxes are a sign of the retail apocalypse.
As I headed toward the checkout counters, I saw a self-pickup section full of orders — another method of increasing sales.Self-pickup at Kohl's.
Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
Kohl's launched self-pickup in all of its locations in 2022.
The line for staffed checkout counters was about 10 customers deep, but there was no line for self-checkout.The checkout line at Kohl's.
Talia Lakritz/Business Insider
The staffed checkout counters may have had a longer line because of people making returns.
It remains to be seen if Kohl's strategies will help the brand avoid further decline.Kohl's trading post at the New York Stock Exchange.
Richard Drew/AP
By leaning into partnerships with Sephora and Babies "R" Us and thinking strategically about store layouts, Kohl's hopes to drive enough business to sustain its core brand and reverse its sales slump.
Read the original article on Business Insider
