Written by: Olivia A.
Michelle Gass, the CEO of Kohl's department store is using innovative ideas to make sure Kohl's remains a relative competitor in the business world. Ever since online shopping has become popular among the current generation retail stores are losing customers due to online shopping. However bringing in a new and experienced business women has brought much attention to Khols which will in the end hopefully keep this store up and running.
Recently we have seen many of these retail stores such as Shopko, Sears, Toys R Us and Boston Store have all went out of business. These used to be very popular stores that families relied on for clothing and workers relied on for paychecks. This means a decrease in consumer spending and an increase in unemployment. All of these are chain stores too, so the closing of these brands affects individuals all around the US. Not only did it affect the workers but it affects the Manufacturers of brands of clothing, appliances, etc. that sell to these stores. If these brands are no longer able to be put into stores such as Kohl's they are also not earning as large of a profit as they could be making.
Michelle Gass wanted to keep Kohl's a viable and successful stores by introducing some fresh ideas. One of the main ways she hopes to keep Khol’s alive is by integrating a new department. This new department will allow individuals to return their previously purchased Amazon products at Kohl's (CEO talks). While the individuals are returning their no longer wanted products management at Kohl's hopes that this will bring many potential customers who are willing to spend money on Kohl's products. Since so many people are buying offline, Kohl's is now offering a very easy way to return items and this innovation will create more foot traffic. Not only will it increase consumer spending in stores but it will also open up jobs for the unemployed.In order to keep this store relevant Gass also had the idea of having a gym and food store attached to Kohl's (Romell). Kohl's is starting to sell a lot of names brand athletic gear such as Under armour so attaching a gym will target the young adult market. Also adding a food store onto Kohl's will attract a wide variety of a target market. Customers will be able to have a variety of what they are shopping for whether that is groceries, athletic gear or any other products Kohl's already sells. Hopefully these ideas will prove to be successful for Kohl’s and the economy in the future.
Works Cited
“CEO Talks: Kohl's Michelle Gass Makes Waves.” We Find Leaders, www.herbertmines.com/media/ceo-talks-kohls-michelle-gass-makes-waves.Romell, Rick. “A Khaki Library, New Brands and Wisconsin Nice: How Kohl's CEO Michelle Gass Is Changing the Company.” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 29 Mar. 2019, www.jsonline.com/story/money/business/retail/2019/03/29/kohls-ceo-michelle-gass-values-experimentation-even-failures/3293305002/.
I totally agree and I like with what Kohl's is doing with their stores to keep them relevant and still in business. With all the stores that you mentioned were closing down you can see that they didn't adapt to change at all. Shopko never really implemented relevant brands which drastically decreased their demand for their store. But what Kohl's is doing is they're now trying to raise their target markets demand for Kohl's stores and it's working with great success. Even in my personal life, my brother saw that Amazon was now involved with Kohl's and asked my Mom to take him in. They went, they never bought anything however it increased foot traffic. And in the bigger picture if a lot people want to check it out there will be people that actually goes in and increases Kohl's profit. These changes make Kohl's still relevant and competitive even with some of their closest competitors closing down.
ReplyDeleteTo some extent, what Kohl's is doing is a great idea. Similar to the way that rail companies integrated other related processes back in the day by buying mines and steel-making facilities, this could prove to bring them quite a bit of profit, even if it isn't necessarily as direct as historical vertical integration.
ReplyDeleteBrick and mortar stores seem to suffering all around us in today's day and age due to the generational shift as Millennials and Generation Z have increasing purchasing power and are favoring online stores. This, compared with the ease and low-cost of shipping these days means that offline stores are continually having to come up with new and creative ways to increase foot traffic and keep up with online stores. Kohl's seems to be keeping up fairly well, by partnering with Amazon, a well known online brand, and solving a problem that Amazon itself can't seem to: facilitating returns.
ReplyDeleteYou are totally right in saying that Kohl's needs to up their game in order to stay in the competition and this is somewhat similar to the grocery stores Amazon wants to introduce which provides an easy alternative to shopping online but also eliminates employed individuals. The thing that is unique about stores like Kohl's though is that they do have an online component, they just need to figure out a way to support the physical part of the business to attract enough customers, but I wonder what the harm would be if they were to switch completely to a company like Amazon that functions fully online. Would the competition be different, if not greater? Maybe, but with the benefits they offer currently such as Kohl's cash and wide selection of higher end clothing and home essentials, I think they would become even more successful rather than devoting their time and money into brick and mortar stores that they may eventually have to close.
ReplyDeleteOffline department stores are having to compete with a growing monopolistically competitive market that favors the convienient. As the Baby Boom generation, a generation that grew up with these offline, large department stores, begins to age and and decline in their puchasing contributions, these stores much transition to a completely different demographic of younger generations. These generations are tech savvy and favor the quick, convienient option. Thus, online stores where you can purchase everythign you could possibly be needing at once, like Amazon, are increasing in demand. Knowing that, I think it is essential that Kohl's and other similar retail stores include merchandise beyond clothing, such as food or tech products because it is clear that the new generation hates making multiple stops. I think Target is a great example of a large, offline store that continually finds success because they have found a way to pinpoint their demographic and provide almost anything you could be needing to shop for.
ReplyDeleteKohl's will definitely need to step up their game if they want to stay in the game. Fresh ideas will definitely be necessary in order to retain customers. A few of the previous comments address how different generations contribute to this dilemma for those once large, stable department stores. Since the most recent generations have been really focused on online transactions, I was a little surprised to read that Kohl's is looking to improve in their in-store transactions. The very last idea stated (the addition of a gym and restaurant) might be a good way to target customers as it adds convince for the customers. But I think that if Kohl's is really looking to stay in the game, they should focus on the new and upcoming generation in online sales.
ReplyDeleteI think that Kohl's could just as easily go out of business like shopko and other stores because of the fact that people are relying more on the online shopping and they don’t go into stores as much, so the stores are losing their business. When Kohl's had the amazon return thing added to there store that definitely brought in more customers, but I think there is more that they can do to bring in more customers. For example they go have a percent off sale that is only in stores because then they would force customers to come into the store. Also having a discount price will increase the business demand because when the price is lower on an item people will buy more of it causing the company to get more money. Overall, I think having discounts only in stores will draw people away from online shopping and bring more customers into the stores.
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