Kohl's Eliminates Three Senior Leadership Positions
13 February 2016 - 6:20AM
Dow Jones News
Kohl's Corp. has eliminated three senior leadership positions at
a time when the department-store chain is battling sluggish sales
and a depressed share price.
The company told the three executives—chief digital officer,
senior vice president of store environment and development, and
senior vice president of communications and public relations—on
Thursday that their positions were being cut.
A Kohl's spokeswoman said the moves were part of a
reorganization designed to make the company more agile.
The reorganization comes as Kohl's board of directors is
weighing options that could include a partial or full sale to a
private-equity firm, people familiar with the conversations have
said. These people cautioned, however, that the discussions were
preliminary and Kohl's may choose to take no action.
Like other department stores, Kohl's has struggled with sluggish
growth losing out to online rivals and fast-fashion chains. In
recent years, overall sales growth has been flat while profits have
been declining. Sales at stores open at least a year have declined
for the financial years that ended in early 2015 and 2014. The
company reports full-year earnings for its recently completed
financial year later this month.
The Menomonee Falls, Wis-company has laid out a plan to increase
sales to $21 billion by 2017, up from $19 billion in the fiscal
year that ended in January 2015. But sales growth last year has
continued to be weak, edging up 1% to $12.8 billion in the nine
months to the end of October.
In the latest quarter, results came in below the company's
plans, prompting Kohl's this month to lower its earnings guidance
for the year.
Shares of the company have declined roughly 40% over 12 months,
which could make it a target for activist investors.
Write to Suzanne Kapner at Suzanne.Kapner@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 12, 2016 14:05 ET (19:05 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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