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Key Takeaways Kohl’s lost its edge by drifting away from its core middle‑income customer and cutting key categories like petites and fine jewelry.
CEO Michael Bender is refocusing the retailer on a curated, disciplined assortment of products.
The company is trying to rebuild its reputation for value and quality to attract more customers.
Kohl’s is trying to make a comeback following years of tepid sales. The popular department store is retargeting the middle-income shopper who drove most of its sales by offering a tighter selection, better value and a more seamless store-to-digital experience to turn stagnant traffic into growth.
CNBC reports that for much of the 2000s, Kohl’s found its niche as a suburban location built on coupons, rewards and a reliable in-store experience. As shoppers moved online and new competitors crowded the market, Kohl’s lost its footing.
Kohl’s CEO Michael Bender is open about missteps. “We stopped listening to the customer,” he said in an interview with CNBC earlier this month. He said that Kohl’s lost its identity and its core customer somewhere along the way. In practice, that meant the department store downsized categories that longtime shoppers relied on, including petites and fine jewelry, and let stores grow cluttered and inconsistent.
Kohl’s core shopper is a lower- to middle-income family closely monitoring their finances. Bender said in a prior interview with CNBC last month. “There are families sitting around their kitchen tables right now, trying to navigate life, especially against the backdrop of rising energy costs and labor market issues,” he said.
These households have grown more picky by trading down, delaying purchases or skipping shopping trips altogether. “Customers show a lot of excitement, but they’re more selective and thoughtful about their spending,” Bender said, adding that Kohl’s has to “increasingly focus on delivering value.”
The new playbook
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