Kohl's iconic arch-shaped Wisconsin grocery stores, prior to their 1962 Kohl's Department Store ... [+]
Growing up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Kohl’s has been on my radar since its earliest inception as the area’s premium grocery retailer. They clearly separated themselves from the likes of Kroger, National Tea and A&P, back in the 1950s and ’60s (showing my age). Kohl’s origin goes back to Polish immigrant Max Kohl, who opened his first grocery store in Milwaukee in 1927.
By the 1950s Kohl’s began to establish a highly recognizable brand by designing “arched stores” formed by massive laminated beams, which gave their stores a unique look and feel, compared to their competitors. However, it wasn’t until 1962 that Kohl’s opened its first department store, in Brookfield, Wisconsin. Coincidentally, this was the same year that both Walmart and Target launched.
The More Likely Survivor
Like other retail watchers I continue to compare Kohl’s and J.C. Penney as they do battle with each other and the marketplace. While the lines between major the discounters (Target and Walmart) and the discount department stores (JCP and Kohl’s) blur more and more, it’s likely that the heavy hitters will continue to take share from these players. And while they are both having major market challenges, I continue to believe that Kohl’s is doing a much better job of investing in long-term sustainability.
Recent moves continue to affirm that Kohl’s is far more attuned with their audience, both existing and desired. The recent launch of an affordable clothing line by Nine West, exclusively for Kohl’s, to be promoted by uber-stylish singer Ciara, is one such example. This has millennial magnetism written all over it. It also dove-tails nicely with the recent announcement of their "Curated by Kohl's," collection of emerging brands which will launch in October and be sold online and in about 50 Kohl's stores.
Kohl’s is also playing a serious role in environmental sustainability, another attribute that both Generations Y and Z are highly attuned to. Kohl’s just announced sustainability goals that are focused on climate action, waste and recycling. Additionally, sustainable sourcing is also in their cross-hairs. Their environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives have put them on Barron’s list of Top 100 Sustainable Companies in 2019, and they were accredited as being one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere Institute, in 2019 as well.
The Amazon Dance
Kohl’s ongoing Amazon-dance appears to be yielding fruit as well. Their decision to accept Amazon returns at stores, at no cost to the buyer has, has increased foot traffic to stores. One of the underlying drivers here is demographics. Amazon’s customers skew slightly younger than Kohl’s; so, this too has millennial motivations behind it.
While I’m neither a Millennial, nor a Kohl’s shopper, I recently needed to return a pair of eyewear frames back to an online seller. So, I proceeded to repackage the frames and test out their free returns offer at my nearby Kohl’s store in St. Louis Park, Minnesota.
Amazon has provided the basic prompts to guide the customer to returns
Once in the store, a sign directed me back to the customer-service area. Given the attention that Amazon had payed to their slickly designed, but recently closed Kohl’s store-in-store kiosks, I had expected a similar brand treatment here. Not so. The returns were being processed at the generic and quite tired looking service area at the rear of the store. The only affirmation that I was in the right place was a small overhead yellow and black sign announcing Amazon drop-off returns. The sign hung, next to an identically shaped Kohl’s on-line pick-up sign.
Brand disconnect. The customer service aspect of the return missed the target (pun intended)
However, the greater disappointment was finding myself at the end of a long, single queue of about 20 people, with only two service assistants behind the distant counter. Given the hype surrounding this “dramatic initiative” I was underwhelmed at the manner in which both Amazon and Kohl’s were handling this “customer experience”. And after standing in line for 18 minutes, I made my way to the counter.
Once there, I was properly armed with the online order open on my iPhone. The associate scanned it and the POS system spit out the return label along with my return confirmation receipt. The label was quickly affixed to the package, and I was done. Total ET from the moment of engagement at the counter was an impressive 45 seconds. Once more, the receipt offering me an extra 25% off my next Kohl’s purchase (if used in seven days). And, if I were to open a Kohl’s charge, they were offering an additional 35% off on that day’s purchases.
While it was clear that Amazon did their due diligence on the tech side, nothing about the rest of what I experienced brought any warm fuzzies. I left the store and went to the nearby Target to shop for a pair of summer casual slacks.
