kohls announced Monday that Michael Bender, who had been serving as interim CEO, will become permanent chief executive officer in an effort to help the department store regain sales growth.
He becomes the department store’s third CEO in about three years. The move will take effect from Sunday.
Bender has been a director of Kohl’s since July 2019 and was appointed interim CEO of the company in May. The company appointed Bender to the role after firing CEO Ashley Buchanan after just a few months on the job.
Kohl’s fired Buchanan after an internal investigation found that he promoted transactions with vendors with whom he had a personal relationship. That person was Chandra Holt, a former retail executive who had been romantically involved with Buchanan.
Mr. Kohl’s executive announcement came a day before the company announced its third-quarter results. In addition to management turmoil, Kohl’s is suffering from declining sales. In August, the company said it expected net sales to decline 5% to 6% for the current fiscal year.
Kohl’s has seen a number of changes at the top since former CEO Michelle Gass left the company in 2022 to join Levi Strauss & Co., later succeeding then-CEO Chip Berg. She was replaced at Coles by Tom Kingsbury, then a director at Coles, who became interim and then permanent CEO.
Michael Bender is named interim CEO of Coles.
Provided by: Coles
Mr. Bender, 64, previously held leadership and management positions at retailers including Victoria’s Secret, Walmart and i-Mart Express. In addition to his role as CEO, Mr. Bender will continue to serve as a member of the company’s board of directors.
Board Chairman John Schlifsky said in a news release that Kohl’s hired an outside firm to “conduct a comprehensive search” for the retailer’s new leader. He said Bender is the right person for the position because of his “30 years of leadership experience in retail and consumer goods companies and his deep dedication to the Kohl’s brand.”
“Over the past few months as interim CEO, Michael has proven to be an exceptional leader for Kohl’s, gradually improving performance, driving short- and long-term strategy, and positively impacting cultural change,” he said.
In an interview with CNBC, Bender described Cole’s turnaround as “heading closer to the middle.”
“For me, that’s a good thing because it means there’s still good work left to do and there are ideas and challenges to bring to the table to solve,” he said.
He said customers at Kohl’s were not only “very excited” but also “more discerning and selective about the money they spend.”
“What they want retailers to do is curate an assortment of high-quality products for me at prices that force me to either get up off the couch or pick up the phone and order if I want to stay on the couch, because they’re valuable to me,” he said.
Over the past five years, Kohl’s stock has fallen about 53%. So far this year, the company’s stock is up nearly 12%.
—CNBC’s Courtney Regan contributed to this report
