KOHL’S has made a switch to a longstanding coupon change that’s been in place for years.
It comes as the retailer tries to boost sales after some consistent financial woes.
Michael Bender, interim CEO, told investors during a May 29 earnings call that many Kohl’s customers remain financially “stressed” amid inflation and economic uncertainty from President Donald Trump’s global reciprocal tariffs.
“People are trying to figure out how to make sense of the dollars that they have to spend, and they’re prioritizing where they want to put it,” Bender explained.
CFO Jill Timm emphasized this, noting that middle-to-low income shoppers were “the most pressured” and seeking for lower prices at Kohl’s.
This is backed by data in a 2025 survey from Bloomberg News and Harris Poll.
It found that about three in every five Americans are committed to cutting back on spending due to recession fears.
Over 70% are eating out less and 57% are spending less on entertainment.
In recent months, Kohl’s hasn’t been in line with what customers have been seeking with money-saving opportunities, according to the CFO.
Specifically, sales from Kohl’s Card holders had been a “lag to the company.”
COUPON CARE
Timm noted that Kohl’s has since reversed several moves to improve that trend.
“Our decisions related to downsizing our in-store jewelry business, exiting the petites business, decreasing inventory in proprietary brands and increasing coupon exclusions had an outsized impact to Kohl’s Card customer performance,” she said on the call.
“As we have made investments back into these categories and reduced coupon exclusions, we have seen an improvement in the sales trend of these customers.”
Timm added that the coupon exclusions particularly “disappointed” the core Kohl’s shopper, and adding a “lot of new brands” as of April 28 was already correlating with a positive sales response.
“We are bringing products back into the coupon, so we do think being more promotional and having value orientation throughout the year is gonna be important, particularly because the middle-income customer that we serve is pretty stretched in today’s environment,” the CFO continued.
A particular investment has been working well for Kohl’s recently.
“People are trying to figure out how to make sense of the dollars that they have to spend, and they’re prioritizing where they want to put it,”
Michael BenderInterim CEO at Kohl'sBEAUTY BONUS
It’s partnership with Sephora continues to provide increased sales, with a 6% year-over-year increase in the first fiscal quarter.
Kohl’s seeks to open a Sephora store within all of its nearly 1,200 stores nationwide later this year.
Over 1,100 already have them.
“This spring, we will open 105 Sephora small format shops, which completes the full chain rollout of Sephora at Kohl’s,” Timm confirmed.
“Sephora has been a huge success for Kohl’s, and in just four years, we have successfully launched over 1,100 Sephora at Kohl’s shops and built nearly a $2 million beauty business.”
Kohl’s continues to move and adapt amid store closures and the recent firing of former CEO Ashley Buchanan.
Buchanan was let go after allegedly engaging in “vendor transactions that involved undisclosed conflicts of interest.”
In January, the retailer announced it would axe 27 underperforming stores in 15 states by the end of April.
Kohl’s also axed a popular “returns” perk after eight years.
A customer at the chain was left fuming recently after waiting 20 minutes on hold for a refund and making four phone calls.
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