Second quarter sales at Kohl’s were down 2%, but company officials said they were encouraged with initial third quarter returns in the early portion of the back-to-school selling season.
For the quarter ended July 30, total sales were $4.182 billion, down from sales of $4.267 billion in the comparable quarter the prior year. Comparable store sales for the quarter were down 1.8%. Net income for the quarter was $140 million, up 8% from the second quarter of 2015.
“Our sales improved over our first quarter results, but were below our expectations,” said Kevin Mansell, Kohl’s chairman, chief executive officer and president. “We are encouraged by the performance of juniors and young men’s as we enter the back-to-school season.”
Mansell said the company’s inventory management initiatives helped the company achieve a strong increase in gross margin with ending inventory per store down significantly from last year.
For the six months ended July 30, total company sales were $8.154 billion, down 2.8%. Comparable store sales for the first half of the year were also down 2.8%. First half net income was $157 million, down 39% from the first six months of 2015.
Kohl’s ended the quarter with 1,150 Kohl’s stores, 12 Fila Outlet stores, and three Off/Aisle clearance centers in 49 states.
In addition, Kohl’s board of directors elected Adrianne Shapira as a new board member, effective immediately. She will initially serve on the governance and nominating committee.
Shapira was the CFO of David Yurman, a fine jewelry luxury brand, from 2012 to 2016. Prior to joining David Yurman, she had a 13-year tenure at Goldman Sachs, where she was managing director in global investment research covering the broadlines retail sector and the lead equity analyst covering the discount, department store, dollar store, warehouse club, apparel manufacturer, luxury and grocery sectors.
