Kohl's Tells Us New Fangled Technology Is Not For Them: eCommerce Is For Losers

In a world where almost no one can be just a retailer and make any money, that's exactly where Kohl's is headed. Back to the safety of their 4 store walls. And with it, here is the direction they have chosen will seal their fate in a canon of declining retailers like Bed Bath and Beyond, Sears, JC Penney, (and Barnes & Noble before they reinvented) etc.

Here are a few things mentioned in the recent earnings:

* Kohl's sales fell 5.2% y/y, but more importantly net income fell 39%.

* Apparently store comps were up slightly year to date.

This is the money quote for me: "The digital business is what's really bringing us down." Oh really. That pesky digital business.

What about that pesky customer who is not consistently walking in your door?

Kohl's has had a patchwork of CEOs and strategies in the last few years, and activist investors continue to circle the firm. The middle market of retail is an active dead zone.

Usually, these activist shakeups do result in changes, though not all for the better. Many times, it's simply too late, or the new CEO is too confident they know just the right thing (in Bed Bath and Beyond, it was private label.... err. Wrong). Even if a business can improve, does it improve that much relative to the competition which has not stumbled?

In 2023, why would you step into a Kohl's if you could step into a WalMart, TJ Maxx or HomeGoods? Someone needs to ask this reasonable question before deciding their next strategy.

To be clear: eCommerce is no longer a channel. It's an extension of your overall digital experience. If you are saddled with 10-15 year old technology stack that doesn't support the needs of your buyers where and how they want to shop, your business is already dead, you just don't know it yet.