Kohl’s made a move that caught plenty of shoppers off guard. Twenty-seven underperforming stores were targeted for closure across the country, marking another difficult chapter for a retailer trying to adapt to a rapidly changing shopping landscape. The closures were part of a broader effort to reduce pressure from weaker locations and concentrate resources on stores and channels with stronger potential. For shoppers who had spent years visiting their local Kohl’s, however, the decision was more personal than a corporate strategy. A familiar store could suddenly disappear from the neighborhood, changing where families shop and where employees built their working lives.
The closures were not presented as a decision to abandon physical retail altogether. Kohl’s said the affected locations were underperforming while emphasizing the health of its remaining store base. The company’s strategy was essentially about becoming more selective — keeping locations that could support the business while reducing the burden created by stores that were not performing well enough. That approach reflects a larger transformation taking place across American retail, where traditional department stores are being forced to compete not only with other chains but also with online shopping and consumers who increasingly expect convenience, value, and speed.
The 27 locations included stores in states such as California, Texas, Illinois, Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Virginia. For communities affected by the closures, the impact extended beyond shopping. Employees faced difficult decisions about their next jobs, while customers had to reconsider where they would shop for clothing, household goods, seasonal products, and other everyday purchases. Kohl’s said affected associates were offered severance packages or opportunities to apply for other open positions within the company.
But the store closures were only one piece of a much larger transformation. Kohl’s has been attempting to modernize its business while maintaining the physical-store network that has long been central to its identity. That means making stores more useful, improving the shopping experience, expanding important categories, strengthening digital shopping, and finding ways to give customers a reason to visit a Kohl’s location rather than simply ordering online.
Leadership changes added another layer of uncertainty. Tom Kingsbury stepped down as CEO in January 2025, with Ashley Buchanan taking over from him. Buchanan arrived with experience from Michaels and Walmart, and Kohl’s positioned his background in operations, merchandising, and e-commerce as useful to the company’s transformation.
But Buchanan’s tenure proved short-lived. In May 2025, Kohl’s announced that its board had terminated him for cause following an investigation into undisclosed conflicts of interest involving vendor transactions. Michael Bender was appointed interim CEO and subsequently became the company’s CEO. That rapid leadership turnover added another complication for a retailer already trying to find a sustainable path forward.
By 2026, the challenge had not disappeared. Kohl’s reported that its fiscal 2025 net sales fell 4.0%, while comparable sales declined 3.1%. In the first quarter of fiscal 2026, net sales were down another 1.7% year over year and comparable sales declined 1.1%. The company nevertheless said its initiatives were producing improvements and reaffirmed its full-year outlook.
That tension captures the bigger story surrounding Kohl’s. The company is not simply disappearing from American retail. Instead, it is trying to determine what a department store needs to look like in an era when shoppers can compare prices instantly, order almost anything from a phone, and choose from countless competitors. Physical stores still matter, but they have to justify the space they occupy and provide an experience that works alongside the company’s digital business.
For loyal shoppers, those changes can be confusing. A familiar store may close while another location receives renovations or new services. Product selections can change. Departments can be reorganized. Online shopping can become more tightly integrated with physical stores. What once felt like a straightforward department-store experience is becoming something much more complicated, shaped by technology, changing consumer habits, and the financial pressure facing traditional retailers.
Kohl’s has also continued investing in initiatives intended to make the shopping experience more relevant, including technology, merchandising changes, proprietary brands, and efforts to improve value for customers. The company has emphasized efficiency and a stronger balance sheet while trying to respond to shoppers who remain cautious about spending.
For employees, however, corporate strategy can feel very different from what appears in an earnings report. A store closure means uncertainty about schedules, jobs, commutes, and the future of a workplace that may have been part of someone’s life for years. For customers, it can mean losing a familiar place where they knew the layout, recognized employees, and had established shopping routines.
That is why the story of Kohl’s is larger than a list of stores that closed. It is a story about a retail model being forced to evolve. The department store that once seemed like a permanent part of American communities can no longer assume that customers will automatically walk through its doors. Every location, every category, every online order, and every investment now has to compete for attention and dollars.
The future therefore depends on whether Kohl’s can make its remaining stores and digital business work together effectively while giving shoppers a compelling reason to return. Closing weaker locations can reduce costs, but it cannot by itself solve every problem. The company still has to earn customer loyalty, maintain competitive prices, improve merchandise, and adapt to changing expectations.
For employees and loyal shoppers, these changes are not abstract strategies. They are a test of whether a retailer founded in 1962 can continue to find relevance in a completely different retail environment. The Kohl’s of the future may have fewer locations, different layouts, new technologies, and a stronger emphasis on digital convenience.
The real question is whether those changes will be enough to keep the brand connected to the people who have relied on it for decades. Kohl’s is not simply fighting to keep stores open. It is fighting to define what those stores should mean in 2026 and beyond — and whether a familiar American department-store name can successfully reinvent itself without losing the customers who made it matter in the first place.