Kohl’s Names New CEO

Michaels CEO Ashley Buchanan will join Kohl’s as chief executive officer in January. He replaces Tom Kingsbury who will remain on the board before retiring in May.

Buchanan has been CEO of Michaels Companies since 2020. Before that, he spent 13 years at Walmart. There, he held various executive roles, including chief merchandising and chief operating officer for Walmart U.S. e-commerce. This experience will “bring a steady, proven, innovative leader to Kohl’s as we continue to transform the business and drive future growth,” said Kohl’s Chair Michael Bender in a statement.

Kingsbury has served as CEO for two years. He was replaced Michelle Gass who left for Levi’s. Last year, Kingsbury said Kohl’s would pivot its focus back to stores. But the change in focus didn’t change the outcome. In Q3, net sales fell 8.8% and comparable sales dropped 9.3%. Gross margin did improve 20 basis points to 39.1%. Net income dropped 60% to $22 million. For the nine months, sales fell 6.4% to $10.2 billion. Net income declined more than 50% to $61 million.

Through March, Sephora at Kohl’s was in 75% of stores. Kohl’s expects to expand the “long-term strategic partnership” to all 1,200 Kohl’s stores next year. In 2023, Kohl’s had $1.4 billion in Sephora sales and expects to grow its Sephora business to $2 billion by 2025.