Dive Brief:
- Kohl’s has tapped former Foot Locker executive Elliott Rodgers to be chief operations officer. He starts in September, the retailer said Monday.
- The role has been vacant since 2023 when Dave Alves, who was also president, left Kohl’s after just a few months. Various executives have been responsible for the duties Rodgers will take on.
- Rodgers’ two decades of experience include over two years at Foot Locker and eight at Ulta. He is also on the board of Levi Strauss & Co., where former Kohl’s CEO Michelle Gass is chief executive.
Dive Insight:
In September, Michael Bender is among those who will move responsibilities over to Rodgers’ purview, as the retailer’s supply chain team has been reporting directly to the CEO, a company spokesperson told Retail Dive. In addition to global supply chain, Rodgers will be responsible for nearly 1,200 Kohl’s stores, its distribution centers, procurement and loss prevention.
In a statement on Rodgers’ appointment, Bender said the Foot Locker veteran is well-suited to a job that oversees the largest portion of the retailer’s workforce. “Elliott thrives at bringing people together to create an inspiring work environment and a winning-team mindset,” he said.
Kohl’s, once thought to have an advantage over rival department stores because most of its stores are not mall anchors, has been struggling in recent years. Turnover in the C-suite has included the CEO spot. The retailer has leaned on Sephora shop-in-shops and Amazon return desks to drive traffic to stores, but that strategy was recently tested by sagging results at the Sephora spaces.
The company is also particularly vulnerable to competition from off-price retailers, according to research released Monday by UBS analysts led by Jay Sole. Awareness of the Kohl’s brand has tumbled 18 percentage points since 2018, going from 76% to 58%, and loyalty and customer engagement are also weakening, according to that report.
“While trial remains stable at 47%, the persistently negative gain-loss rate (-8%) indicates ongoing customer churn,” Sole said. “This deterioration in the top and bottom of the funnel underscores a structurally weakening customer franchise versus Off-Price peers.”
