Shoppers To New CEO: Bring Back The Old Kohl's

Kohl's customers are reportedly urging new CEO Ashley Buchanan to reverse changes made under prior leadership that alienated older, loyal shoppers.

Under departing CEO Tom Kingsbury, the retail giant scaled back on private-label brands, petite clothing sizes, and fine jewelry to chase a more youthful customer base, ushering in pop-up shops like Sephora and Babies "R" Us, reported the Wall Street Journal.

While the pop-up shops performed well with younger customers, they alienated older shoppers.

As a result, sales declined, costing Kohl's over $500 million in revenue and alienating loyal, older patrons, according to the report.

Kohl's reported nearly a 10% decrease in consumer goods sales for the 2024 fiscal year.

Kohl's sales have declined for 11 consecutive quarters, with the company forecasting a 7 to 8 percent sales decline and lower diluted earnings per share for the fiscal year.

Rival Target said its holiday sales grew by 2.8 percent.

The company's third-quarter sales were down 8.8% year-over-year, and comparable sales were down 9.3%.

A 20-year customer, Adrienne Cestare-Alfano, 73, told the Wall Street Journal she's shopping less at Kohl's after it reduced its stock of petite clothing and private-label jeans.

"Why do I want to see Nike and Eddie Bauer in Kohl's when they are for sale all over the mall?" said Cestare-Alfano. "Undo the last few years of changes and get back to being my store."

Buchanan, who revived Michaels stores by modernizing operations and expanding services, faces the challenge of balancing new customer acquisition while retaining Kohl's core audience.

The retailer's stock has halved in value over the past year, with the stock trading at $13 as of Monday, reported Yahoo! Finance.

Kohl's has over 1,000 stores nationwide.