Kohl's Corporation (Kohl's is stylized in
all caps
In typography, text or font in all caps (short for "all capitals") contains capital letters without any lowercase letters. For example: All-caps text can be seen in legal documents, advertisements, newspaper headlines, and the titles on book co ...
) 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 under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...
retail
chain
A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A ...
. currently has 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 so ...
except
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
. The company was founded by Polish immigrant Maxwell Kohl, who opened a corner
grocery store
A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop or grocer's shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a retail store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday US usage, however, "grocery store" is a synon ...
in
Milwaukee
Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...
,
Wisconsin
Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
, 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 p.l.c. (BAT) is a British multinational company that manufactures and sells cigarettes, tobacco and other nicotine products including electronic cigarettes. The company, established in 1902, is headquartered in London, E ...
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 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 sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...
in 1992.
Kohl's is headquartered in the Milwaukee suburb of
Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.
It became the largest department store chain in the United States in May 2012, surpassing its competitor
JCPenney
Penney OpCo LLC , Trade name, doing business as JCPenney (colloquially Penney's and abbreviated JCP) is an American department store chain store, chain with 649 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. It is managed as part of the Catalys ...
. The company is listed on both the
S&P 400 and the
Fortune 500
The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune (magazine), Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States Joint-stock company#Closely held corporations and publicly traded corporations, corporations by ...
. 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 the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesal ...
in the United States in 2019.
As of May 2025, the Acting CEO of Kohl's is Michael Bender, following the firing of
Ashley Buchanan, who served as CEO for less than five months.
Tom Kingsbury previously served as CEO from 2022 to early 2025, replacing
Michelle Gass
Michelle D. Gass (nee Petkers, born 1968) is an American businesswoman who is the CEO of Levi Strauss & Co. She previously was CEO of department store Kohl's.
Education and career
Gass earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Wor ...
.
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. Strictly speaking, a supermarket is larger and has a wider selecti ...
in 1946, the first in what would become a southeastern Wisconsin chain known as
Kohl's Food Stores. 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
British American Tobacco p.l.c. (BAT) is a British multinational company that manufactures and sells cigarettes, tobacco and other nicotine products including electronic cigarettes. The company, established in 1902, is headquartered in London, E ...
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.
The Kohl family, led by Allen Kohl and
Herb Kohl, continued to manage the company. Herb Kohl left the management in 1979,
eventually becoming a
United States senator
The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress.
Party affiliation
Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...
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 Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...
. 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. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
and
Indiana
Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the 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
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
-based retailer
MainStreet
"Mainstreet" is a song written and recorded by Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band. It was released in April 1977 as the second single from the album '' Night Moves''. The song peaked at number 24 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and has become a sta ...
, 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 stat ...
, and
Michigan
Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
.
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, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...
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 called the Tri-State area and sometimes referred to as Greater New York, is the List of cities by GDP, largest metropolitan economy in the world, with a List of U.S. metropolitan areas by GDP, gross metropo ...
in 2000 after
Caldor was liquidated. The chain later expanded into the
Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex,
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
in 2003 with 28 new stores, the
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (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 no official boundary exists, the most common ...
in 2006 with 10 new stores, and the
Southeast
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, ...
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 for $1.5 billion.
In 2011, Kohl's replaced Chase with
Capital One
Capital One Financial Corporation is an American bank holding company founded on July 21, 1994, and specializing in credit cards, auto loans, banking, and savings accounts, headquartered in Tysons, Virginia, with operations primarily in the ...
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
A QR code payment is a mobile 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 is 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 area of the Santa Clara Valley ...
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. Supported on iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, Mac, and Vision Pro, Apple Pay digitizes and can replace a credit or debi ...
.
Kohl's hired
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
advertising agency
DeVito/Verdi 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 news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...
'' 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 bags 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, 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'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'' 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), Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States Joint-stock company#Closely held corporations and publicly traded corporations, corporations by ...
, 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:
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...
, 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 (German pronunciation: ), stylised as ALDI, is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 12,000 stores in 18 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and ...
and, the following year, to fitness center
Planet Fitness, alongside up to 10 stores each.
On March 16, 2022, it was announced that
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...
and
Sycamore Partners
Sycamore Partners is an American 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 2 ...
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, the owners of
JCPenney
Penney OpCo LLC , Trade name, doing business as JCPenney (colloquially Penney's and abbreviated JCP) is an American department store chain store, chain with 649 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. It is managed as part of the Catalys ...
, had set an offer to buy Kohl's. 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. 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".
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.
In 2024, Kohl's struck a deal with Babies R Us to add baby supplies, furniture, Graco, Carter's, Fisher-Price and other brands.
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,
Vera Wang,
Narciso Rodriguez,
and
Peter Som
Peter Som (born 1970) is a Chinese American fashion designer. He was creative director for Bill Blass and creative consultant for Tommy Hilfiger, where he designed the women’s wear collection, prior to founding his eponymous label. Born and r ...
.
Celebrities such as
Avril Lavigne
Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She is a key musician in popularizing pop-punk music, as she paved the way for female-driven, punk-influenced pop music in the early 2000s. List of awa ...
,
Lauren Conrad
Lauren Katherine Conrad (born February 1, 1986) is an American television personality, fashion designer and author. In late 2004, she came to prominence after being cast in the reality television series '' Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County'', ...
,
Daisy Fuentes
Daisy Fuentes (born November 17, 1966) is a Cuban-American model, television host, actress and former weather presenter. Fuentes became MTV's first Latina VJ (signed to MTV and MTV Latin America simultaneously) and Revlon's first Latina spoke ...
,
Paula DeAnda,
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking ...
,
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...
,
Marc Anthony
Marco Antonio Muñiz (born September 16, 1968), known professionally as Marc Anthony, is an American singer and actor. He is the top selling salsa artist of all time. A four-time Grammy Award, eight-time Latin Grammy Award and twenty-nine-tim ...
, 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 docume ...
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 and
Mudd Jeans.
In 2021, Kohl's made a deal with makeup retailer
Sephora
Sephora is a French multinational retailer of personal care and beauty products, offering nearly 340 brands alongside its own private label, the Sephora Collection. Its product range includes cosmetics, skincare, fragrance, nail color, beauty t ...
, to have certain Kohl's locations have Sephora stores inside of the stores. This is a move to replace their in-house beauty selection.
In 2024,
Haus Labs by
Lady Gaga
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...
announced that they had joined the Sephora at Kohl’s assortment.
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 corporate website
{{Authority control
1962 establishments in Wisconsin
British American Tobacco
1972 mergers and acquisitions
1983 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