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Milwaukee – It’s been one of the biggest questions in the retail industry: Where did Kohl’s market share go? At this morning’s analyst day sessions here, Kohl’s ceo answered that question – and began laying out a three-year plan to boost merchandising, marketing and customer engagement.
During and after the recession, “the off-price channel grew a lot,” said Kevin Mansell, chairman, ceo and president, noting that many of the consumers who shifted to off-pricers never came back. “New virtual retailers emerged and further disrupted the market,” he added.
During today’s meeting, which began this morning and runs into the afternoon, executives are walking through the strategies developed to promote what Kohl’s internally calls its “Greatness Agenda.”
The key takeaways so far:
- Kohl’s will localize merchandise assortments on a store-by-store basis over the next three years. Stores are currently merchandized by region.
- Put a bigger emphasis on national brands. Among first-time Kohl’s shoppers, 70% come to Kohl’s for a national brand.
- Retain new shoppers with more personalized marketing and special offers to drive a follow-up purchase. If a first-time Kohl’s shopper doesn’t make a second purchase within 30 days, the retailer never hears from her again. Also of note: the home department is the top destination for first-time shoppers.
- Boost mobile. A new app tells a shopper what the final check-out price will be on an item once her discounts, coupons and Kohl’s cash have been applied – then allows her to compare that to pricing on the same item at competitors. Kohl’s has dozens of other initiatives in test.
- Kohl’s stores have become “uninspiring.” The company will address that with a $1 billion investment over the next three years. Plans include “telling stories in unexpected ways,” adding new categories such as technology and wellness, creating “aisles of inspiration” to draw traffic into departments. Kohl’s will also update fixtures and graphics and add IT enhancements across all stores.
- Shop online/pick up in store is now available at 100 units and will fully roll out next year. The tests in mostly in Chicagoland and the Milwaukee area as well as a few stores in Pennsylvania. “The number of people who pick up additional product [when picking up orders in-store] is very high,” according to Krista Berry, Kohl’s chief digital officer.
- Kohl’s is partnering with Google Express to test same-day delivery in select markets during the upcoming holiday season.
“We all know we’ve been too predictable, not only in our assortment but also in our store experience,” evp/gmm Amy Kocourek told analysts.
