Kohl’s Future in Jeopardy

The retail giant has been steadily losing sales for the last few months.

Though there seems to be a Kohl’s in just about every shopping center, the company reported they had weak quarterly sales. After that announcement, shares of the company fell by nearly 10%, digging them into an even deeper hole. The department store retail chain reported sales on Thursday morning of $4.12 billion, up from $4.07 billion the previous quarter, but missing the estimate for $4.19 billion.

The company reported first quarter diluted earnings per share of $0.63, beating the expectation for $0.55 according to Bloomberg. This is still not a great trend for the company, especially with retailers like Target and TJ Maxx having strong sales in the last few months. 

CEO Kevin Mansell said, “Sales were modestly below our original expectations for the quarter, but accelerated in the March/April combined period after a weak February. We are very pleased with our earnings results, with a more balanced promotional calendar driving merchandise margin combined with strong expense control.”

Kohl’s opened two new stores in the quarter, and now has 1,164 locations in 49 states. This is behind where the company wanted to be by 2015, but they are still showing growth.

The stock fell to around $67.55 before the market open. It’s up 22% year-to-date and 36% over the past 12 months. This /4/be due, in part, to the rumors that the Kardashian line that is about to be pulled from Sears is moving to Kohl’s in the coming months. There has been no confirmation of that, but much speculation as to whether Target or Kohl’s would be picking up the line.

On Wednesday, JCPenney also reported weak sales at stores open for more than one year. It reported a loss of $167 million, or 55 cents per share, in the first quarter. Overall, retail is still strong going into the summer season, and many stores are hiring seasonal help.