Kohl's
Kohl's is a prominent national retailer headquartered in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, known for its omnichannel approach that integrates physical locations, online platforms, and telephone sales to enhance customer experience. Founded in 1962 by Maxwell Kohl, a Polish immigrant who initially established a supermarket chain, Kohl's evolved into a department store format that prioritized customer service and efficient inventory management, allowing it to offer competitive pricing. The company went public in 1992 and has since expanded to over 1,100 stores across 49 states, focusing on middle-income consumers by providing national brands at lower prices than traditional department stores.
Kohl's has embraced modern retail trends, launching private-label brands like FLX, which features sustainably produced athleisure wear, and partnering with Sephora to enhance its beauty offerings. The company has also faced challenges, including investor pressures and declining sales during the pandemic, prompting leadership changes and strategic shifts to maintain market share. Additionally, Kohl's is committed to community engagement through its philanthropic initiative, Kohl's Cares, which funds health and wellness programs for children and families. The retailer is also dedicated to sustainability, aligning its operations with ethical sourcing practices and reducing its carbon footprint as part of its broader corporate responsibility efforts.
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Kohl's
Company information
- Date founded: 1962
- Industry: Retail
- Corporate headquarters: Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin
- Type: Public
Overview
Kohl’s is a national retailer based in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. The company is an omnichannel retailer, a retailer that has developed many integrated approaches to sales. The omnichannel approach seeks to provide seamless shopping experiences in physical locations, by telephone, and online. The first Kohl’s department store opened in 1962 in Brookfield, Wisconsin. When the company went public in 1992, all its stores were located in the Midwest. In 2003, with the opening of more than two dozen stores in California, Kohl’s stores were located across the contiguous United States.
History
The department store chain was founded by Polish immigrant Maxwell Kohl. He saved his earnings from factory jobs in the Milwaukee area. In 1927, when he was twenty-six years old, he had saved enough to open a small grocery store. He established more locations over the years, even opening stores during the Great Depression. He created innovative services such as the first in-store bakery and deli, which were features of the first supermarket he opened in 1946. By 1970, he had grown the supermarket chain to forty-eight stores throughout Wisconsin.
By then, Kohl was already growing a chain of department stores. He had opened his first department store after he experienced poor customer service while buying a shirt. He improved upon the department store model of the early 1960s using strategies he had learned and used in his grocery stores. He structured his stores to be more customer-oriented and used more efficient inventory management practices. This helped him sell goods at lower prices. His pricing lured customers away from high-end stores, and the better quality of his goods drew shoppers from discount stores. These strategies enabled him to quickly grow his chain of stores.
Kohl was able to sell merchandise at lower prices than other department stores because he introduced increased efficiency methods from the grocery business to retail. Kohl grew the chain of stores and operated the company with his sons, Herbert and Sidney. The family business expanded to include multiple operations. They built two shopping malls in 1967 and also opened drug and liquor stores.
In 1972, Kohl and his sons sold a controlling interest in the department store business to Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation (B&W), a subsidiary of the British American Tobacco Company. At that time, the family had fifty-six supermarkets, six department stores, three drug stores, and three liquor stores. Maxwell Kohl retired, but his son Herbert remained president of Kohl's for several years.
Kohl’s Department Stores continued to expand. B&W sold off the Kohl’s Food Stores in 1983 and, three years later, decided to sell the chain of forty department stores as well. William Kellogg and other investors bought the chain and set about expanding it. In 1988, the company acquired the chain of twenty-six MainStreet department stores from Federated Department Stores, which introduced the Kohl’s brand to substantially larger markets, notably in Chicago, Detroit, and Minneapolis–St. Paul. Company leadership cited the potential of the Midwest market as important to its expansion plans. In 1992, the company went public with an initial public offering and joined the S&P 500 in 1998.
In 2003, the chain expanded to the West Coast when it opened twenty-eight stores in California. By the mid-2020s, the retail chain included more than 1,100 stores in forty-nine states. The only state to which Kohl’s had not expanded was Hawaii.
In 2024, Kohl’s partnered with Babies "R" Us to begin selling brands like Graco, Carter's, and Fisher-Price. The same year, the CEO of crafts store Michaels, Ashley Buchanan, took over as Kohl’s CEO. However, in 2025, Kohl’s announced its closing of over twenty-five stores in fifteen states. The compant also announced plans to lay off about 10 perent of its corporate employees.
Impact
Kohl’s straddles the middle ground between department store and discount retailer. It traditionally appealed to middle-income households by offering national brands at lower prices than those at other department stores. The company did so by keeping overhead, or operating expenses, low and by running frequent and expansive sales.
In 2021, Kohl’s employed over 90,000 workers. The company generated nearly $18 billion in revenue in 2022 and was ranked one hundred eighty-third in the 2022 Fortune 500. Michelle Gass served as chief executive officer and director until Tom Kingsbury took over in late 2022. In late 2020, the company announced an increased focus on serving customers’ active and casual lifestyles. Gass noted the turbulence the retail industry was experiencing during the global COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent recession and framed this as an opportunity to increase market share. The company cited its rewards programs—Kohl’s Cash, Kohl’s Rewards, and Kohl’s Charge Card—as keys to maintaining customer satisfaction and engagement. Kohl’s also announced the launch of FLX, its first private-label athleisure brand. FLX, which hit the market in early 2021, consisted of sustainably sourced and produced clothing and accessories for men and women. Sephora shops opened within Kohl’s stores in 2021, and by 2023, the partnership with Sephora expanding into seven new states. In 2024, Kohl's built 140 new Sephora stores and made plans to continue expanding the partnership's reach.
Leadership of the company faced a challenge from a group of investors in February 2021. Net sales in 2020 fell more than 20 percent during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, net sales were virtually flat from 2011 to 2019, while the company’s operative profit margin fell by nearly half. Ancora Holdings, 4010 Capital, Legion Partners Asset Management, and Macellum Advisors threatened to take over the twelve-person board by nominating nine directors. The group said directors were paid too much, and the existing directors either had been on the board for too long or lacked retail experience. Both sides agreed two directors nominated by the group would join the board in May, and Frank Sika, chairman of Kohl’s, would leave after thirty-four years on the board.
The company also developed a philanthropic program, Kohl’s Cares, that sold children’s books and toys. The net profits were donated to support healthy community initiatives. On a national level, the company partnered with Alliance for a Healthier Generation and Boys & Girls Clubs of America. The focus was on improving the health and wellness of children and families. Kohl’s also maintained hometown partnerships in Milwaukee communities with organizations, including youth and family centers, arts organizations, and Discovery World, which provided hands-on activities using technology in its Kohl’s Design It! Lab. The Kohl’s Design It! Mobile Lab took these programs to schools and community events. The company’s third category of philanthropic work consisted of supporting hospitals across the country. In addition to supporting organizations, Kohl’s encouraged associates to volunteer with nonprofit organizations in their communities. The company also donated funding to the organizations for every volunteer hour. By the mid-2020s, Kohl’s Cares had given over $875 million to non-profit organizations.
The company is committed to reducing its carbon footprint and securing ethical sourcing for its products. Kohl’s was a founding member of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition. Company efforts included setting goals and charting progress in reducing energy use and emissions, reducing waste generation, reducing the use of chemicals, and using more recycled materials and sustainable cotton.
Bibliography
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