Kohl’s CEO will step down -- he’ll be replaced by the head of Michaels

By: CNN

Posted: Nov 25, 2024 4:47 PM CST

Joe Raedle/Getty Images via CNN Newsource

By Ramishah Maruf, CNN

New York (CNN) — Kohl’s announced its CEO Tom Kingsbury will step down on January 15, 2025, and will be replaced by the CEO of arts and crafts retailer Michaels.

Ashley Buchanan, the next Kohl’s CEO, has been CEO of Michaels since 2020 and was a senior executive at Walmart and Walmart-ownedSam’s Club for 13 years.

Kingsbury became interim CEO in 2022 and then agreed to take over as permanent CEO until May 2025, board chair Michael Bender said in a statement Monday. He took over after former Kohl’s chief executive Michelle Gass announced she was leaving the company to become the CEO at Levi’s (LEVI).

While at Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, Buchanan had served as chief merchandising and chief operating officer for Walmart US e-Commerce.

Kingsbury will stay on as an advisor to Buchanan and on the Kohl’s Board of Directors until he retires in May 2025.

Like many department stores in recent years, Kohl’s has spent the last few years in turmoil and has yet to fully recover. It reported dropped sales during the 2023 holiday shopping season as consumers pulled back on spending during a rough inflationary period. In 2022, the company was engaged in a messy activist investor battle in which they tried to push Kohl’s to spin off its online business, sell its real estate or take the company private. It also dropped exploring a sale in 2022.

Kohl’s (KSS) will release its third quarter earnings on Tuesday. Shares of Kohl’s dropped 5% in after-hours trading Monday.