Kohl’s (KSS) was facing declined sales for quite some time and was even looking for a buyout option. The retailer had a deal in the works with Franchise Group (FRG) before ending talks just over 60 days ago.
In the 60-plus days since ending the buyout talks, Kohl's has made numerous changes to it's branding and consumer image.
The Menomonee Falls, Wis., retailer's competitor Target (TGT) has been able to keep its consumers coming back with its shifts in fashion and design. Recently, Target expanded the Tabitha Brown lines it carried to include more of the brand across different categories. Tabitha Brown is a black actress, best-selling author, and social media influencer.
Brown’s collection celebrates self-positivity through inspirational and bright patterns and colors. The lines that Target has decided to carry include swim apparel, clothing, accessories, home goods, kitchen and more. Shoppers won’t be able to go through the Target aisles without seeing some of Brown’s collection. The fact that Target started carrying Brown’s collection in May and then announced it would be adding more of the collection in August, proving the decision was positive and the inclusive line was well received by Target consumers.
Kohl’s Made Strategic Moves on Target
Shortly after ending the Franchise Group deal, Kohl's launched Discover @ Kohl’s, specifically for driving gender neutral clothing for youth and collections to portray inclusivity and representation of all beings. This line will also change out each season to make room for new seasons, and Kohl's will offer new diverse brands including women-owned brands.
Kohl’s also added a retro Levi’s (LEVI) line, the 90’s SilverTab jeans collection, that will only be available for a short time. This move is meant to bring Gen X customers into the stores to see if they can get a new pair of their old favorite jeans, betting on nostalgia to boost sales through this additional line up.
Sephora, a Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton brand (LVMHF) brought its beauty line to Kohl's retail floor, which was made possible through the ending of Sephora’s partnership with JCPenney (JCPNQ) . The Kohl's/Sephora partnership started a year ago and in August the two announced that the partnership would expand to all of the Kohl’s store fronts.
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Kohl’s Adds Another Layer to its Retail Plan
Kohl's made a major move into its diversity campaign with the addition of the Sonoma Collection, which celebrates and brings out diversity and inclusion through its apparel. The apparel will include ways to celebrate and express different cultures. In the announcement Kohl’s expressed that it was continuing to make strides in recognizing all of its consumers and their differences and celebrate them.
Kohl’s said that it will offer multiple collections throughout the year to showcase a variety of cultures within its Sonoma Community and will debut this diversity collection to recognize Hispanic and Latino cultures.
The subsequent cultures the retailer plans to focus on will coincide with Lunar New Year, Black History Month, Women’s History Month, Asian American Pacific Islander Native Hawaiian Heritage Month, Pride Month and Veterans Day.
