First the good news: Kohl’s finally has a steady hand at the helm after promoting its interim CEO to the top job, following years of churn in its C-suite. The deterioration of the retailer’s net sales is finally slowing.
Now for the bad news: Kohl’s business is still bleeding. And to stop the downward spiral it finds itself in, the department store will have to make big moves that may deprive its employees of some of the stability they crave.
On Monday, Kohl’s announced that long-time board member Michael Bender would become its CEO after six months in the role on an interim basis following the firing of his predecessor for major ethics violations. And on Tuesday, the department store chain reported that sales had slipped a less-than-expected 2.8% to $3.41 billion in its third quarter. It now expects them to fall 3.5% to 4% for the full fiscal year—a smaller drop than previously anticipated. Kohl’s shares rose 35% on those signs of progress. Bender has also protected Kohl’s profit margins by deftly managing inventory levels and cutting costs.
All good and well. But Bender’s real job has to be to win shoppers back—not just to manage decline. The most recent quarter was the 15th in a row to see sales deterioration, a trajectory reminiscent of the dramatic declines—which led to bankruptcies—at J.C. Penney and Sears just a few years ago.
