The retailer, with 1,100 stores in 49 states, today announced a CEO change shortly before the release of lower net sales in Q3.
“Chief Executive Officer Tom Kingsbury plans to step down as CEO, effective January 15, 2025. He will stay on in an advisory role to the new CEO and retain his position on Kohl’s Board of Directors.” The company stated in a press release. “The Board has appointed retail veteran Ashley Buchanan as CEO, effective January 15. Buchanan has been CEO of Michaels Companies since 2020 and, prior to that, has held a variety of senior executive roles at Walmart and Sam’s Club during his 13 years at the company.”
Kohl’s Q3 results disappointed investors, with Kohl’s share price falling 13% before premarket trading today.
The company reported:
Net sales decreased 8.8% year-over-year, to $3.5 billion, with comparable sales down 9.3%.
Net income was $22 million, or $0.20 per diluted share. This compares to net income of $59 million, or $0.53 per diluted share in the prior year.
In a statement to investors, Kohl’s exiting CEO, Kingsbury said, “Our third quarter results did not meet our expectations as sales remained soft in our apparel and footwear businesses. Although we had a strong collective performance across our key growth areas… these were unable to offset the declines in our core business. Importantly, we delivered gross margin expansion and managed expenses tightly in the quarter.”
“We are not satisfied with our performance in 2024 and are taking aggressive action to reverse the sales declines… We are approaching our financial outlook for the year more conservatively given the third quarter underperformance and our expectation for a highly competitive holiday season,” Kingsbury concluded.
The company now expects full-year sales to decline 7% to 8%.
By CEO NA Editorial Staff
