Dive Brief:
- As promised, Kohl’s is expanding its FLX activewear line with a collection for kids and pre-teens, the department store announced Monday.
- The collection includes joggers, zip-ups, hoodies and performance T-shirts, priced from $14.99 to $50. Boys sizes range from 8 to 20; and girls sizes range from 7 to 16.
- FLX launched four years ago as the pandemic helped spur a boom in athleisure sales. The kids assortment is available now online and in 300 stores, and Kohl’s plans to expand it to more stores next year.
Dive Insight:
Kohl’s calls FLX “a standout” in its private label portfolio, which has become a centerpiece of its turnaround. The company on Monday declined to provide sales numbers for the brand.
Last month, the company said that an expansion of FLX into children’s was in the works.
“This assortment underscores our continued work to elevate proprietary brands that deliver trusted quality, relevant style, and incredible value for Kohl’s customers,” Nick Jones, Kohl’s chief merchandising officer, said in a statement Monday.
Speaking to analysts in August, Kohl’s executives singled out those brands as pivotal to their turnaround strategy because they expand margins while offering value — one of many leftover initiatives from ex-CEO Tom Kingsbury.
In Q2, Kohl’s owned brands outperformed the company overall, improving 500 basis points from the previous quarter. Along with FLX, the best-performing labels included Tek Gear, Simply Vera Vera Wang and Lauren Conrad. The retailer recently introduced new ones, including Miryana, Hotelier and Mingle & Co., and plans more, executives said.
The quarter-on-quarter increase in Kohl’s owned brand penetration “is proof of concept that the company was right about leaning into that pillar,” Evercore ISI analysts led by Michael Binetti said in a client note last month. A boost in conversion after some brand names were once again eligible for coupons also shows its customers are finding value at Kohl’s, they also said.
