Kohl's said Monday that Michael Bender, who served as its interim chief executive, will become its permanent chief executive as the department store tries to return to sales growth.
He becomes the department store's third CEO in about three years. The measure is effective from Sunday.
Bender, who has been a director on Kohl's board of directors since July 2019, became the company's interim CEO in May. The retailer appointed Bender to the position after firing CEO Ashley Buchanan just a few months into her tenure.
Kohl's fired Buchanan after he said a company investigation found he had pushed for deals with a supplier with whom he had a personal relationship. That person was Chandra Holt, a former retail executive who was in a romantic relationship with Buchanan.
Kohl's leadership announcement comes a day before the retailer reports fiscal third-quarter earnings. Along with leadership turmoil, Kohl's has struggled with declining sales. The company said in August that it expects net sales to fall 5% to 6% during the fiscal year.
Kohl's has had a lot of changes at the top since former CEO Michelle Gass left the company in 2022 to join Levi Strauss & Co., where she later succeeded then-CEO Chip Bergh. She was followed at Kohl's by Tom Kingsbury, then a member of the company's board of directors, who became interim and then permanent CEO.
Michael Bender named interim CEO of Kohl's.
Courtesy: Kohl's
Bender, 64, previously held leadership and management positions at retailers including Victoria's Secret, Walmart and Eyemart Express. In addition to his role as CEO, Bender will continue to serve on the company's board of directors.
In a news release, Chairman John Schlifske said Kohl's hired an outside firm and “conducted an extensive search” for the retailer's new leader. He said Bender is the right person for the job because of his “three decades of leadership experience in retail and consumer goods companies and a deep commitment to the Kohl's brand.”
“Over the past several months as interim CEO, Michael has proven to be an exceptional leader for Kohl's: progressively improving results, driving short- and long-term strategy and positively impacting cultural change,” he said.
In an interview with CNBC, Bender described Kohl's turnaround as “approaching the middle of the innings.”
“To me, that's a good thing, because it means there's still a lot of work to do and ideas and challenges to come up with to solve,” he said.
At Kohl's, he said, customers have “a lot of enthusiasm” but also “a more demanding and selective attitude about the money they spend.”
“What they're looking for from retailers is to offer me a variety of quality products at a price that makes me get off the couch or, if I want to stay on the couch, get on my phone and place orders because they mean value to me,” he said.
Over the past five years, Kohl's stock has fallen about 53%. So far this year, its shares are up almost 12%.
— CNBC's Courtney Reagan contributed to this report.
