Kohl’s CEO Michelle Gass will depart to join Levi’s
Kohl’s CEO Michelle Gass is leaving the department store chain next month to become president of Levi Strauss & Co. and eventually succeed its longtime leader, Chip Bergh.
At Kohl’s, Gass started a number of initiatives to bolster sales and help transform the retailer’s image as a destination for millennial parents and Generation Z consumers. She oversaw the introduction of the Amazon returns program, which allows shoppers to walk into a Kohl’s store and drop off goods purchased through the online retailer.
Kohl’s stock price has dropped 46% since the beginning of the year, and Levi’s has seen its stock price fall 38% since the start of the year.
Kohl ’s CEO Michelle Gass is leaving the department store chain next month to become president of Levi Strauss & Co. and eventually succeed its longtime leader, Chip Bergh .Gass will depart Dec. 2, in the middle of the critical holiday season, after four years in Kohl ’s top post. Levi ’s said Tuesday that she would replace Bergh , who has led the company since 2011, as CEO within the next 18 months.At Kohl ’s, Gass started a number of initiatives to bolster sales and help transform the retailer’s image as a destination for millennial parents and Generation Z consumers . She oversaw the introduction of the Amazon returns program, which allows shoppers to walk into a Kohl ’s store and drop off goods purchased through the online retailer. Kohl ’s has said customers tend to stay around to shop at its stores after making an Amazon return.It is also testing a smaller footprint for its stores, and opened a 35,000-square-foot store in Tacoma last month . A typical Kohl ’s is around 80,000 square feet. Kohl ’s has put a huge emphasis on its partnership with Sephora, which will have 600 shop-in-shops in Kohl ’s stores by the end of the year and plans to open 250 more in 2023. Kohl ’s sees the partnership generating $2 billion in annual sales by 2025. Kohl ’s announced preliminary third-quarter results Tuesday, reporting that same-store sales fell 6.9% and its operating margin was 4.7%. It said it would release full quarterly earnings Nov. 17.Gass joined Kohl ’s in 2013, after a long tenure at Starbucks, where she was credited with creating the Frappuccino and its caramel drizzle. On Tuesday, Kohl ’s praised her efforts to reshape the company for a younger generation.“Under her leadership, the company has driven a strategic transformation, expanded its partnerships and brand portfolio, and supported an inclusive and collaborative culture,” Peter Boneparth, Kohl ’s chair, said in a statement.Thomas Kingsbury, a Kohl ’s board member and former CEO of Burlington, will be interim CEO while Kohl ’s looks for a permanent leader. Kohl ’s stock price has dropped 46% since the beginning of the year, and Levi ’s has seen its stock price fall 38% since the start of the year.
