Dive Brief:
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Kohl’s on Monday tapped Greg Revelle as chief marketing officer, filling a spot that has been left vacant since Julie Gardner stepped down in November 2012. Revelle will be responsible for marketing organization and overall marketing strategy, including driving customer engagement through analytics, enhancing the loyalty platform, accelerating customer traffic and continuing to build Kohl’s overall brand position. He will report to Michelle Gass, chief merchandising and customer officer.
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Revelle stepped down as chief marketing officer of Best Buy just last month, a position he had held since 2014. Previously, he was the chief marketing officer at AutoNation and held other executive positions at Expedia and Credit Suisse.
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Kohl’s continues to struggle despite strong loyalty from its customer base and despite turnaround efforts now dating back years. Fourth quarter same-store sales were down 2.2% from the year-ago period and down 2.4% for the year. The company, in February, said same-store sales for the year could decline 2% or remain flat.
Dive Insight:
Like all department stores and brick-and-mortar chains, Kohl's has felt the slow down in foot traffic, but the loyal members of its “Kohl’s cash” program have served as a lifeline. Even so, the discount department store has had trouble drawing in new or infrequent customers, and it's in danger of offering commoditized merchandise, which in turn makes price the major consideration for shoppers, according to retail analysts at Jane Hali and Associates.
Speaking at the Shoptalk conference in March this year, CEO Kevin Mansell said the company must foster a faster-paced, more agile approach to retailing in order to compete against a broad range of threats including e-commerce and off-price merchants.
“Success for us is probably going to come by becoming an amazing omnichannel retailer, connecting the physical and digital [channels],” he said. “But for the customer, the experience has to get a lot more engaging to fulfill that mission. We have to move faster. We have not used speed. We’re not as agile as we need to be to be a better competitor [to virtual and brick-and-mortar retailers alike].”
The company is turning to Revelle for a renewed push into “more relevant and personal” marketing efforts, Gass said in a statement. “We are excited to have him lead our efforts in driving omnichannel traffic, building strong customer engagement and leveraging data-driven insights to create powerful customer interactions,” she said. “Greg and the marketing team will elevate and accelerate our loyalty and personalization efforts to help reach our goal of becoming the most engaging retailer in America.”
In his statement Monday, Revelle noted that loyalty to Kohl’s runs deep. “In serving millions of families across the country, Kohl’s has deep connections with its customers and is well-positioned to be a leader in loyalty and personalized marketing,” he said. “I’m energized by all of the opportunity ahead.”