Kohl’s 170 Hours (Straight) To Christmas

One retailer is turning the holiday shopping rush into a marathon of endurance.

Kohl’s announced earlier this week that once the doors open at every one of its locations nationwide at 7 a.m. today (in their respective time zones), Dec. 17, none of them will close until 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve.

When all is said and done, thousands of Kohl’s stores will have remained open for 170 hours straight, which is 70 hours longer than the chain stayed open during the lead-up to Christmas last year.

“Kohl’s has wowed customers all season long with the most amazing products at an exceptional value, and we are opening our doors around the clock leading up to Christmas to give customers even more time to get their last-minute gifts,” said Michelle Gass, Kohl’s chief merchandise and customer officer, in a company press release.

The potential benefit to last-minute shoppers aside, The Washington Post puts forth the likelihood that Kohl’s is also hoping to, through its marathon hours, make up some sales following a less-than-stellar previous quarter that saw unseasonably warm weather cut into its margins on items such as coats and boots.

While it cannot be cheap, the outlet goes on to posit, for Kohl’s to keep its stores up and running — including staffed — for 170 hours straight, the chain has obviously decided that the financial expenditure will be a worthwhile one.

“It goes without saying that the crowds diminish in the middle of the morning,” Gregg Welter, the district manager for Kohl’s stores in the D.C. region, told The Washington Post, speaking from his experience during the 100-hour Christmas stretch last year, “but we’ve got customers in at all timeframes.”