Retail Archaeology asks 'Kohl's: Who Would Want To Buy This?'

I closed Company Man asks 'The Decline of Forever 21...What Happened?' — a tale of the Retail Apocalypse by telling my readers "I have another video about the Retail Apocalypse to share from Erik of Retail Archaeology. Stay tuned." Here is Erik asking Kohl's: Who Would Want To Buy This?

In this episode we take a look at Kohl's. They're for sale, but why would anyone want to buy them?

Before I watched this video, I did not know that Kohl's currently has the most locations of any department store chain, passing JCPenney, which survived bankruptcy after closing more than 150 stores. It's a good day when I learn something new.

Kohl's has been having problems since the beginning of the pandemic. Nearly two years ago, CNBC asked Can Kohl's Survive?

When the coronavirus pandemic hit, Kohl's closed all of its stores nationwide on March 19, and wasn't able to reopen until early May. Like many other retailers, Kohl's has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, seeing its stock plummet more than 65% in 2020. Coupled with being a primarily brick-and-mortar business in an era where online retail remains enormously popular, Kohl's fight to stay alive is a tough one.

Once again, companies that were in trouble before the Retail Apocalypse, or in this case, the COVID-19 pandemic, are the ones that are failing now. Kohl's may not have been an obvious example, given that Company Man uploaded Kohl's - Why They're Successful before the pandemic hit, but in retrospect, the chain turned out to be no exception.

Follow over the jump for the latest in the acquisition contest Erik mentioned in his video.

Yahoo Finance reported Sycamore, Franchise Group submit bids for Kohl's on June 3, 2022.

Yahoo Finance Live anchors discuss Sycamore and Franchise Group becoming the latest to submit bids for Kohl’s.

I'm with Brian Sozzi. I'd rather shop at Target than Kohl's. On the other hand, someone does want to buy Kohl's, two someones, in fact.

Since Yahoo Finance's report, Kohl's picked their preferred purchaser as WFRV Local 5 in Wisconsin uploaded Kohl's to begin a three-week exclusive negotiation period with Franchise Group Inc.


I'll keep an eye on this deal. In the meantime, stay tuned for World Oceans Day.