When Kohl’s Corp. released its second quarter results, the Menomonee Falls-based retailer cut its net sales guidance for the year. The company now expects net sales to be down 4% to 6%, compared to a 2% to 4% decline forecasted after the first quarter. If the company hits its revised forecast, net sales would dip
When Kohl’s Corp. released its second quarter results, the Menomonee Falls-based retailer cut its net sales guidance for the year. The company now expects net sales to be down 4% to 6%, compared to a 2% to 4% decline forecasted after the first quarter. If the company hits its revised forecast, net sales would dip below $16 billion for the first time since 2020, which was heavily impacted by COVID-19. At the low-end, it would represent a nearly $3.3 billion decline versus 2019.
It would be easy to attribute the decline to challenges facing retailers, but only looking at the top line results obscures shifts in the business. Overall, net sales declined 12.2% from 2019 to 2023, but within the women’s category – the largest category for Kohl’s – the decrease was 19.3%. The men’s category – on the other hand – was down 9.7%.
Accessories – which includes the retailer’s partnership with Sephora that started in 2021 – grew 26.9% to $2.81 billion.
Here’s a closer look at what percentage of net sales each category accounted for in recent years and where the business is trending in the first half of 2024:
Profitability has been a mixed bag for Kohl’s with a net loss in 2020 and 2022 and fluctuations in both gross and operating margin. The updated guidance after the second quarter called for operating margin to land between 3.4% and 3.8% this year, up from 3% to 3.5% after the first quarter.
