A Popular Department Store Chain Is Facing More Closures In 2025

Restaurants and stores had a troubling past year. Multiple closures across the nation have rocked long-time beloved chains like Red Lobster, which went bankrupt, and Steak 'N Shake, which continues to flounder. The ongoing financial difficulties are not limited to the hospitality industry either.

Retailers have been struggling to compete effectively as well. Major names that have seen store closures in this space over the last 12 months include favorite party supply store Party City, JoAnn Fabrics, and Big Lots. Kohl's is the latest popular retail store to announce that it will close its stores in 2025.

Kohl's department stores once had a successful business model. With 96,000 full-time employees, the retailer will still have over 1,150 locations after the reorganization takes effect. However, the retailer's latest announcement is that it will close 27 outlets across 15 states. Kohl's disastrous run of sales declines now spans 11 consecutive quarters.

Founded in 1988, Kohl's is based in Wisconsin. Kohl's Corporation does business as a multichannel American retailer. The department store chain sells branded clothing, accessories, shoes, and home and beauty products in both its physical locations and on the company website. Major proprietary brand names include Jumping Beans, Croft & Barrow, Sonoma Goods for Life, SO, and Tek Gear. They also have branded products sold through Nine West, Food Network, Simply Vera Wang, and LC Lauren Conrad according to Yahoo Finance.

For nearly three years, the company's financial performance has been faltering. The corporation last reported 2024 Q3 results of $3.51 billion in sales, down 4.2%. As a result of the continuing declines in results, the company will close multiple stores across much of the country. They will shutter one location in each state: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Utah. Two Kohl's department stores will close per state in Illinois, Ohio, and Virginia. California is the worst-impacted state, with 10 Kohl's locations set to disappear in 2025.

Kohl's worsening problems are evident in their company stock prices. KSS (NYSE) recently traded at $11.84 per share on February 11. This was at the bottom of their 52-week high-to-low share price range that varied from $29.60 to $11.78 on February 10.

Kohl's management has been apologetic for the declining company performance. Current Board of Directors member and former CEO Tom Kingsbury shared his thoughts on the issue. In Kohl's press release, He stated, "We always take these decisions very seriously. As we continue to build on our long-term growth strategy, it is important that we also take difficult but necessary actions to support the health and future of our business for our customers and our teams."

With the ongoing problems at the department store giant only increasing, Kingsbury resigned from his top leadership post in January. The new CEO is Ashley Buchanan, who served as Michaels' CEO previously. In an effort to mitigate the damage to workers, the company has offered its employees a choice of transferring to nearby Kohl's locations or taking a severance package. (via AL.com)

Kohl's anticipates that these closures, impacting 15 states, will occur between February and April. The retailer identified locations it has chosen to close as struggling. Besides the store shuttering, the retail giant will also shut down its E-Commerce Fulfillment Center. This will close in May when the lease on the facility expires. Hopefully, these measures will be sufficient to keep Kohl's from joining the list of companies that came roaring back from bankruptcy.