Kohl's: Strategic Planning is Key to Success
- Vanessa Lau
- Nov 11, 2018
- 2 min read
Strategic planning is the key to success when there is changes in the market.
In the age of technology and social media, large department stores such as Sears and J.C. Penny are struggling to stay in the market with the large amount of employees and inventory that they have. The buying trend of consumers has been shifted online and towards more value-oriented chains like Walmart and T.J. Max. By implementing effective strategic plans, Kohl's Corporation is able to stay in the industry and grow steadily with the obstacles given.
According to the Wall Street Journal written by Kapner, Kohl's has been making changes both internally and externally to succeed. Chief Executive Michelle Gass talked about three ways that Kohl's is responding to the current market. First of all, the company is adjusting operations internally to make stores smaller and leasing space to other stores such as Aldi (the supermarket chain). Kohl's is also reducing their inventory and assorting as a smaller store. Secondly, Kohl's launched a partnership with Amazon, showcasing Amazon electronic products such as Echo in store and allowing customers to return Amazon products in stores. Thirdly, Kohl's is reaching the new market of younger shoppers by partnering up with social media platform PopSugar to come up with a clothing collection that is now sold in store and online.
I think Kohl's has been very successful in keeping up with the market trends and being creative. As Ms. Gass mentioned " the most important thing is around innovation and speed. Those that are too slow will be left behind. You aren’t always going to get it right, but you’ve got to be out there trying things and really have a mind-set of experimentation." With the Strategies being implemented, the company's capital will be better used in concentrating resources on market penetration as well as diversification. Partnering up with Amazon will increase in-store shopping experience with the existing markets and products that Kohl's have; and going into the millennial female market will expand Kohl's customer base with future growth opportunities.
I am excited to see where Kohl's will continue to grow in the future. One way that Kohl's can approach the market is through product development in the millennial female market. Selling cosmetics from brands that young women love but are currently sold online only will give customers an in-store experience to look at and try on the products. Cosmetic brands like Glossier, Milk Makeup, Lime Crime, Belief and Son & Park are some of the popular brands that can be marketed towards millennials who have been waiting to try on the products from the brands they love.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-kohls-is-succeeding-where-other-chains-havent-1540865040
https://www.kohls.com/feature/popsugar.jsp
https://www.kohls.com/feature/amazon.jsp
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