Keeping up with fashion and retail
Anyone’s who’s anyone in the retail world knows about the annual Women’s Wear Daily Apparel and Retail CEO Summit in New York City.
It’s kind of a big deal.
This year’s theme was “The New Face of Fashion.” Last week, leaders from over 30 brands – both well known and emerging – spoke about what tactics companies should engage to keep up with the dynamic, changing atmosphere of the industry.
Kohl’s looking to boost sales
In an attempt to increase mediocre sales, Kohl’s Corp. CEO Kevin Mansell announced big changes for the retailer, including plans to:
- Open between five and 10 stores half the size of existing stores (reducing from 80,000 to 35,000 square footage)
- Open between 10 to 15 new Fila apparel and footwear stores in outlet malls (Fila is an Italian-born sportswear company based in South Korea that Kohl’s partnered with in 2007)
- Rebrand to make the store a central destination for women’s apparel, as the current audience is mothers making purchases for children, home décor, and active wear
The smaller stores give Kohl’s the opportunity to move into previously untapped markets, such as big cities where the price of real estate made expansion unprofitable. The exposure to the outlet malls through the Fila brand, for which Kohl’s operates stores and buys merchandise, is another major revenue source.
Mapping out the growth plan
These changes represent part of the larger growth plan to raise sales to $21 billion by 2017 that Kohl’s introduced a year ago, dubbed the “Greatness Agenda.” The multi-year agenda outlines five pillars: amazing product, incredible savings, easy experience, personalized connections, and winning teams.
So far, so good, according to Mansell. At the WWD Summit, he boldly stated that the agenda had met its goals and was on track to make Kohl’s “the most engaging retailer in America” in three years. For a more detailed look into how Kohl’s plans to further support the five pillars of its Greatness Agenda next, read here.
