Kohl's – Beaverton, Oregon
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Kohl's (stylized in
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) is an American
department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...
retail
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, operated by Kohl's Corporation. it is the largest department store chain in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, with 1,165 locations, operating stores in every
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
except
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
. The company was founded by Polish immigrant Maxwell Kohl, who opened a corner
grocery store A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, a ...
in
Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...
, Wisconsin, in 1927. 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.
British American Tobacco British American Tobacco plc (BAT) is a British multinational company that manufactures and sells cigarettes, tobacco and other nicotine products. The company, established in 1902, is headquartered in London, England. As of 2019, it is the large ...
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. British American Tobacco US, mostly known for its acronym BATUS, was the US subsidiary of multinational company British American Tobacco (BAT), the world's second largest cigarette manufacturer. BATUS served as the U.S. holding company for BAT. ...
A group of investors purchased the company in 1986 from British American Tobacco and took it
public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
in 1992. Kohl's is headquartered in the Milwaukee suburb of
Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin Menomonee Falls is a village in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States, and is part of the Greater Milwaukee area. The population was 35,626 at the 2010 census, making it the most populous village in Wisconsin. It is the fourth largest communi ...
. It became the largest department store chain in the United States in May 2012, surpassing its biggest competitor J. C. Penney. The company is listed on both the
S&P 400 The S&P MidCap 400 Index, more commonly known as the S&P 400, is a stock market index from S&P Dow Jones Indices. The index serves as a gauge for the U.S. mid-cap equities sector and is the most widely followed mid-cap index. To be included in ...
and the
Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...
. In terms of revenue, the chain was the 23rd-largest
retailer Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...
in the United States in 2019. As of 2013, Kohl's was the second-largest U.S. department store company by retail sales.


History

Maxwell Kohl, who had operated traditional grocery stores since 1927, built his first
supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earli ...
in 1946, the first in what would become a southeastern Wisconsin chain known as
Kohl's Food Stores Kohl’s Food Stores was a Milwaukee-area grocery store chain and subsidiary of The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company. Kohl’s Food Stores distribution center was located in Waukesha, while its management offices were located in Milwaukee, ...
. 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 Brookfield is a city located in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States in the Milwaukee metropolitan area. It had a population of 37,920 in the 2010 census. Brookfield is the third-largest city in Waukesha County. The city is adjacent to the ...
. 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 British American Tobacco plc (BAT) is a British multinational company that manufactures and sells cigarettes, tobacco and other nicotine products. The company, established in 1902, is headquartered in London, England. As of 2019, it is the large ...
Company's U.S. retail division,
Batus Inc. British American Tobacco US, mostly known for its acronym BATUS, was the US subsidiary of multinational company British American Tobacco (BAT), the world's second largest cigarette manufacturer. BATUS served as the U.S. holding company for BAT. ...
, 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. The Kohl family, led by Allen Kohl and
Herb Kohl Herbert H. Kohl (born February 7, 1935) is an American businessman and politician. Alongside his brother and father, the Kohl family created the Kohl's department stores chain, of which Kohl went on to be president and CEO. Kohl also served as a ...
, continued to manage the company. Herb Kohl left the management in 1979, eventually becoming a
United States senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...
and owner of the
Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...
. The firm then expanded Kohl's presence from 10 to 39 stores in Wisconsin,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
and
Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
. The grocery stores were sold to A&P in 1983, 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, 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. A group of investors, led by the senior management, purchased the company in 1986. 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 (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
-based retailer
MainStreet Main Street is the generic street name (and often the official name) of the primary retail street of a village, town, or small city in many parts of the world. Main Street may refer to: Places Canada * Main Street (Toronto, Ontario) * Main Stre ...
, gaining several stores in Chicago's suburbs, the
Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in statu ...
, and
Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
. Kohl's completed its initial public offering on May 19, 1992 and began trading on the
New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...
under the symbol KSS. 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 The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban area, urban landmass, at , and one of the list of most populous metropolitan areas, most populous urban agg ...
in 2000 after
Caldor Caldor, Inc. was a discount department store chain founded in 1951 by husband and wife Carl and Dorothy Bennett. Referred to by many as the Bloomingdale's of discounting, Caldor grew from a second story "Walk-Up-&-Save" operation in Port Chest ...
was liquidated. The chain later expanded into
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
in 2003 with 28 new stores, the
Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...
in 2006 with 10 new stores, and the
Southeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
with 43 new stores opening between 2005 and 2008. 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 JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered in City of New York, New York City and Delaware General Corporation Law, inco ...
for $1.5 billion. In 2011, Kohl's replaced Chase with
Capital One Capital One Financial Corporation is an American bank holding company specializing in credit cards, auto loans, banking, and savings accounts, headquartered in McLean, Virginia with operations primarily in the United States. It is on the list o ...
as their private credit card processing partner for an undisclosed sum. 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 QR code payment is a contactless payment method where payment is performed by scanning a QR code from a mobile app. This is an alternative to doing electronic funds transfer at point of sale using a payment terminal. This avoids a lot of the infra ...
, with technology powered by Omnyway, Inc (né OmnyPay), a
Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo County ...
startup. 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 Apple Pay is a mobile payment service by Apple Inc. that allows users to make payments in person, in iOS apps, and on the web. It is supported on these Apple devices: iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, and Mac. It digitizes and can replace a credit ...
. Kohl's hired
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
advertising agency
DeVito/Verdi DeVito/Verdi is an American-based advertising and public relations company, headquartered in New York City, formed in 1993 by partners Sal DeVito and Ellis Verdi when founding partner and Creative Director, John Follis, left Follis/DeVito/Verdi t ...
in 2009 to strengthen the Kohl's brand via a series of national television, online, and social media campaigns. The same year, ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'' magazine ranked the company 18th overall and first in its industry in its "Green Rankings", 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 bag A reusable shopping bag, sometimes called a bag-for-life in the UK, is a type of shopping bag which can be reused many times, in contrast to single-use paper or plastic shopping bags. It is often a tote bag made from fabric such as canvas, natu ...
s the previous year. Kohl's was awarded $62.5 million in
tax credits A tax credit is a tax incentive which allows certain taxpayers to subtract the amount of the credit they have accrued from the total they owe the state. It may also be a credit granted in recognition of taxes already paid or a form of state "disc ...
from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation in 2012. The retailer was to create 3,000 jobs with the funds, but only created 473. In the same year, Kohl's requested financing from the village of
Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin Menomonee Falls is a village in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States, and is part of the Greater Milwaukee area. The population was 35,626 at the 2010 census, making it the most populous village in Wisconsin. It is the fourth largest communi ...
, 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. 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. The Off/Aisle stores were ultimately closed in 2019. In early January 2017, Kohl's shares fell 19% in value, in what ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' 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. The company ranked 157th on the 2018
Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...
, the annual list of the largest United States corporations, having earned revenues of $19.095 billion in 2017. In that year, Kohl's entered into a partnership with
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
, which included a program where select stores would accept Amazon returns; in 2019 it was expanded nationwide. In 2018, Kohl's announced a pilot program to lease space to grocer
Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...
and, the following year, to fitness center
Planet Fitness Planet Fitness (PFIP LLC) is an American franchisor and operator of fitness centers based in Hampton, New Hampshire. The company reports that it has 2,039 clubs, making it one of the largest fitness club franchises by number of members and loc ...
, alongside up to 10 stores each. On March 16, 2022, it was announced that
Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...
and
Sycamore Partners Sycamore Partners is a private equity firm based in New York specializing in retail and consumer investments. The firm has approximately $10 billion in aggregate committed capital. History Founding Sycamore Partners was founded in 2011 by Stefa ...
were considering bids to buy Kohl's, which its shares jumped 17%. On April 25, 2022, it was announced that
Simon Property Group Simon Property Group, Inc. is an American real estate investment trust that invests in shopping malls, outlet centers, and community/lifestyle centers. It is the largest owner of shopping malls in the United States and is headquartered in Indian ...
and
Brookfield Asset Management Brookfield Asset Management Inc. is a Canadian multinational company that is one of the world's largest alternative investment management companies, with over US$725 billion of assets under management in 2022. It focuses on direct contr ...
, the owners of
JCPenney Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Womens, Boys, Gir ...
, had set an offer to buy Kohl's. In June 2022, the
Franchise Group Franchise Group, Inc., is an American publicly traded holding company that acquires and manages mainly franchise companies. It owns brands in various retail industries including American Freight, Buddy's Home Furnishings, The Vitamin Shoppe, Pe ...
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. 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".


Brands and store layout

Kohl's store brands include
diffusion line A diffusion line (also known as a bridge line) is a secondary line of merchandise created by a high-end fashion house or fashion designer that retails at lower prices. These ranges are separate from a fashion house's "signature line", or principal ...
s from high-end designers such as
Dana Buchman Dana Buchman was an upscale men's and women's fashion brand. Its founder, Dana Buchman, is an American fashion designer. The brand, which was most recently carried by Kohl's, was discontinued in 2020. History Dana Buchman has been a member of ...
,
Vera Wang Vera Ellen Wang (; born June 27, 1949) is an American fashion designer. Early life Vera Ellen Wang was born June 27, 1949 in New York City to Chinese parents who emigrated to the United States in the mid-1940s. Her mother, Florence Wu (Wu ...
,
Narciso Rodriguez Narciso Jesus Rodriguez III (; born January 27, 1961) is an American fashion designer. Early life and education Rodriguez was born in Newark, New Jersey, the eldest child and only son of Cuban parents. His parents, Narciso Rodríguez Sanchez I ...
, and
Peter Som Peter Som (born 1970) is a Chinese American fashion designer. He was creative director for Bill Bass and creative consultant for Tommy Hilfiger, where he designed the women’s wear collection, prior to founding his eponymous label. Born and rai ...
. Celebrities such as
Avril Lavigne Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. At age 16, she signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records. Her debut studio album, ''Let Go (Avril Lavigne album), Let Go'' (2002), is the ...
,
Lauren Conrad Lauren Katherine Conrad (born February 1, 1986)) is an American television personality, fashion designer and author. In September 2004, as an 18-year-old, Conrad came to prominence after being cast in the reality television series '' Laguna Beac ...
,
Daisy Fuentes Daisy Fuentes (born November 17, 1966) is a Cuban-American actress, comedian, model, television host and former weather presenter. Fuentes broke barriers as MTV's first Latina VJ (signed to MTV and MTV Latin America simultaneously) and as Revlon ...
,
Paula DeAnda Paula or PAULA may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Paula, in video game '' EarthBound'' * Paula, in ''The Larry Sanders Show'' * Paula Campbell (''EastEnders''), in 2003 Film and television * ''Paula'' (1915 film), a s ...
,
Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...
,
Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...
,
Marc Anthony Marco Antonio Muñiz Rivera (born September 16, 1968), known professionally as Marc Anthony, is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is the top selling tropical salsa artist of all time. A three-time Grammy Award and six-time Latin Gra ...
, and
Tony Hawk Anthony Frank Hawk (born May 12, 1968), nicknamed Birdman, is an American professional skateboarder, entrepreneur, and the owner of the skateboard company Birdhouse. A pioneer of modern vertical skateboarding, Hawk completed the first documen ...
have sold branded clothing exclusively through Kohl's. 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. Kohl's has also purchased the exclusive retail rights to existing brands such as
Candie's Candie's is an American women's clothing brand launched in 1978. Originally a shoe brand, it has increased its range of products, currently commercialising T-shirts, blouses, dresses, jackets, pants, lingerie, sweaters. History Candie's was ori ...
and
Mudd Jeans Mudd Jeans (or simply Mudd) is a women's clothing brand marketed to adult and young women, founded by Dick Gilbert, George Fontini, Marty Weisfeld and Joanne Jacobsen in 1995. The brand became popular when they introduced their affordable flare ...
. In 2021, Kohl's made a deal with makeup retailer
Sephora Sephora is a French multinational retailer of personal care and beauty products. Featuring nearly 340 brands, along with its own private label, Sephora Collection, Sephora offers beauty products including cosmetics, skincare, body, fragrance, n ...
, to have certain Kohl's locations have Sephora stores inside of the stores. This is a move to replace their in-house beauty selection. Kohl's uses a "racetrack" layout with a single aisle that circles the entire store, a layout borrowed from discount stores.


References


External links


Kohl's official website

Kohl's corporate website
{{Authority control 1962 establishments in Wisconsin British American Tobacco 1972 mergers and acquisitions 1983 mergers and acquisitions Announced mergers and acquisitions Clothing retailers of the United States Companies based in Milwaukee Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Department stores of the United States American companies established in 1962 Retail companies established in 1962 Retail companies based in Wisconsin The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company 1992 initial public offerings