Kohl’s Corp., filling a second big void in its senior leadership in just seven days, named Nick Jones, a 25-year retail veteran, as chief merchandising and digital officer.
Jones will report directly to Tom Kingsbury, who on Feb. 2 was named chief executive officer after serving as interim CEO since December. Kingsbury, former CEO of the Burlington off-price chain, has been on the Kohl’s board since April 2021.
Jones will be responsible for Kohl’s overall merchandise strategy including buying, digital and omnichannel merchandising, product design and development, and product portfolio strategy. Jones told WWD he will be joining Kohl’s in March and will relocate to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, near where Kohl’s is based. He succeeds Doug Howe, the incoming president and CEO of DSW, the footwear retailer.
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Most recently, Jones was CEO of Joules Group, a lifestyle brand based in the U.K. The brand sells online, through 130 stores, and through many wholesale partners including Nordstrom and Dillards. Jones is credited with expanding Joules’ customer base and bringing the British fashion brand to new markets. He left Joules in the summer of 2022 and has since been doing some advisory work in the U.K.
Before Joules, Jones spent nearly 10 years working for Asda/Walmart U.K., where he managed the George brand and served as the chief merchant for Asda/Walmart U.K. When Jones joined George in 2010, it was established in the U.S. and the U.K. principally as an apparel brand, but he worked to broaden the assortment into the home and general merchandise categories, and broadened its distribution to other countries. George menswear continues to be sold at Walmart in the U.S., and has a significant presence inside Walmart Canada and in the U.K.
Earlier in his career, Jones spent 15 years at Marks & Spencer, including in merchandise leadership positions, in the home, beauty and women’s categories.
“We are very excited to have Nick join our team and lead our merchandising organization as we continue our focus on the active and casual lifestyle while also accelerating our focus on product newness and innovation,” Kingsbury said in a statement. “Nick has a tremendous wealth of experience in merchandising, retail, global sourcing, and business leadership. During his career, Nick’s been the chief merchant for one of the U.K.’s biggest retailers, led multiple categories for Marks & Spencer, and was a key leader in the category and international expansion of the multibillion-dollar George brand. As we continue to build on our key national brands, enhance our proprietary product portfolio and drive newness for customers, we are confident that he is the right fit for our organization, our team and our customers.”
Jones said he loves “the strategic focus for today’s customers living a more casual and comfortable lifestyle.”
He acknowledged that initially, it’s a learning curve joining Kohl’s, but added that working at Walmart and with the George brand gave him the opportunity to understand the U.S. market.
He also said that during his 25-year career in retailing, he’s developed a strong understanding of merchandising, omnichannel and sourcing.
Citing Kohl’s national footprint and “strong” digital presence, Jones said, “Like many businesses, there are still opportunities for Kohl’s to push forward.”
Kingsbury and Jones will be challenged to turn around the $19 billion Kohl’s. The company has been losing market share for several seasons amid a softening retail business climate and America’s rapidly changing lifestyle post-COVID-19.
As sources have suggested to WWD, Kohl’s does have some opportunities for growth, needs to raise its fashion and further bolster its private label portfolio for wider margins and greater fashion differentiation. There could also be a better balance to the casual offerings with more wear-to-work and dressier styles, and an effort to refresh stores, many of which appear dated. The Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin-based retailer did start opening small-store formats that were successfully piloted. They feature “zones” for diverse, female-owned and emerging brands; test self-serve return drop-offs; test self-checkout, and reflow key active and casual brands in proximity to the in-store Sephora shops for better exposure.
Last week, Kohl’s disclosed that it entered into a cooperation agreement with Macellum Advisors, the shareholder activist group that pushed for the departure of former Kohl’s CEO Michelle Gass and brought Kingsbury onto the board, following several seasons of declining performance by the business and its stock price. Macellum agreed to a multiyear standstill, voting and other provisions, which will enable management to focus more squarely on improving the company’s performance.
Last November, Kohl’s pulled its outlook for the year and pointed to a sharp slowdown in consumer spending. At the time, Peter Boneparth, the independent chair at Kohl’s, told analysts on a conference call that operating without an explicit profit and sales promise would give Kingsbury “the latitude in the fourth quarter to execute on our basic strategy.”
Kohl’s is scheduled to post its fourth-quarter and 2022 results on March 1, when Kingsbury for the first time should provide some sense of his agenda for the company.
