(Reuters) -Kohl's on Monday named retail veteran Michael Bender as its permanent CEO, tapping an insider to steer its turnaround after years of sliding sales and shrinking profit amid churn at the top.
Bender, appointed interim chief in May after the department-store operator fired former CEO Ashley Buchanan, will have to reverse several quarters of declining sales as the U.S. department-store operator struggled with strategic missteps and intense competition from online retailers and off-price players.
He has already accelerated his predecessor's efforts to pull in budget-conscious shoppers by sharpening the focus on private-label brands, discounts and key assortments.
Shares of the company, which have more than doubled since Bender took on the interim CEO role, were marginally lower in volatile early trading. Kohl's was part of the so-called meme stock euphoria in July.
The company has introduced fresher items to keep its lower and middle-income customers engaged at a time when tariffs and still-high inflation have squeezed household budgets.
"The most pressing priority is to win back customers and spend. This means improving the range, especially in apparel and home, by simplifying the offer and injecting more fashion and oomph into the assortment," said Neil Saunders, managing director of retail at GlobalData.
Bender, the fourth full-time CEO in three years, has also doubled down on leveraging the company's partnerships with Sephora and Babies "R" Us, as well as streamlining its operations through store closures and job cuts.
In the first full quarter under Bender, Kohl's lifted its annual profit targets as it beat market expectations, suggesting the firm's cost-cutting measures were paying off.
Bender, who has been on Kohl's board since 2019, has more than 30 years of leadership experience at retailers including Walmart, Victoria's Secret and PepsiCo. At Walmart, he was the chief operating officer of global ecommerce.
Kohl's is due to report its third-quarter results before the bell on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Prerna Bedi and Savyata Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
