Kohl’s CEO Touts Store Performance on CNBC

In the midst of the retail revolution, Kohl’s CEO Kevin Mansell is more confident in his stores’ performances than ever before.

In an interview on CNBC’s Squawk on the Street, Mansell shared how Kohl’s differentiates itself and how it plans to siphon off foot traffic from its competition.

With approximately 1,200 stores in operation, Mansell believes what helps Kohl’s be a success is its standalone locations and forward technology thinking. “We are not a mall store, we are an off-mall store. So 95 percent of our stores are not in traditional malls. As we move to an omnichannel world – and we’re there – we are looking to be one of the best-in-class omnichannel retailers.”

As big-box retailers like J.C. Penney, Macy’s and Sears close stores and continue to either borrow money or invest in store redesigns, Kohl’s is hoping to literally cash in on their misfortunes. Kohl’s has not had to close many of its stores because it has invested $2 billion in technology and $1 billion in store improvements over the last three years, but the company has been trading in a small range this year following a 19 percent share drop post-holiday sales.

Mansell remains confident that his store will be successful moving forward, even with five consecutive quarters of decreasing sales figures. With 40 percent of Kohl’s entire inventory coming from women’s apparel and accessories, industry analyst say this category is the key part of flipping the store’s quarterly sales around.

With many department stores falling into the shadow of eCommerce giants like Amazon, Kohl’s is using its stores as distribution centers to help fulfill online orders. This may be a model that other retailers follow in the future as the retail arena continues through its digitally driven transformation.