Kohl’s at a Crossroads Refines Its Christmas Presentation


When Kohl’s Corp. executives say they’ve “evolved” the holiday game plan, they’re likely underplaying the extent of change.

Compared to last year, Kohl’s 2025 holiday assortment has been simplified with a “narrow and deep” approach. Intensified presentations of proprietary brands, Sephora gift sets and fragrances, and trees, ornaments, lights, inflatables and seasonal decor housed in the store’s “tree farm” section are all surfacing. And the holiday marketing will start at the end of October, a week earlier than last year, with actress Ellie Kemper, known for her roles in “The Office” and “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” returning as the “Kohl’s Mom,” a central figure in the campaign.

In addition, Black Friday deals start the Sunday before and this year get extended by a day to the Saturday after Black Friday, and through the season, the company will “lean” into up to 50-percent-off promoting.

Among the apparel brands viewed by Kohl’s executives as particularly important for the season: LC Lauren Conrad, FLX, Simply Vera Vera Wang and Sonoma on the private label side, and Nike, Levi Strauss, Adidas and Under Armour on the national brand side. Ninja and Cuisinart in kitchen appliances and accessories were also among the brands cited.

Executives are touting sharp values, such as pajamas and throws priced as low as $9.99, as well as toys from Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price and Polly Pocket priced under $10. Furthering the value proposition, Kohl’s has restored coupons on certain market brands which had been discontinued.

Whether it’s customers buying gifts or self-purchasing, Kohl’s anticipates generating large apparel sales volumes in fleece, sleepwear, sweaters, outerwear and active during the fourth quarter, across men’s, women’s and kids’.

Kohl’s is coming into the holiday selling with some momentum after reporting a second quarter marked by margin gains, expense reductions and merchandise improvements. The company has lifted its profit forecast for 2025 despite sales declines that were not as bad as expected.

It appears that executives have determined, at least to some degree, a roadmap to return to growth, after many seasons of national brand and private brand changes and trials and errors. Kohl’s has been overly dependent on big brands that are widely distributed at retail. This holiday period will be a crucial test of whether recent merchandising changes online and on the selling floors are resonating with customers and whether Kohl’s can recapture market share that over the years has primarily been lost to Amazon, Walmart, Target, TJMaxx and other off-pricers.

It’s clear that Kohl’s is at a crossroads of a potential turnaround despite management changes, investor pressures and economic headwinds, though Wall Street remains cautious about its future. The company continues to search for a chief executive officer. Michael Bender currently serves as interim CEO of Kohl’s. He assumed the role after the termination of former CEO Ashley Buchanan for cause in May.

For holiday 2025, “We’ve evolved, rather than trying to create a completely different experience,” Nick Jones, Kohl’s chief merchandising officer, told WWD after giving a media preview of the holiday program, along with Christie Raymond, Kohl’s chief marketing officer, at the retailer’s offices in Manhattan.

“From a product perspective, customers will see stronger statements on private labels, more depth around the business in totality, and more intent in terms of how we show up to make it easier for customers to shop, both physically and digitally. And we’re very clear that value is incredibly important to us,” Jones said.

Nick Jones

Nick Jones

Courtesy of Kohls

Asked for his outlook on holiday 2025, Jones replied, “There’s a macro environment situation, where we don’t know how the consumer is going to react. But we feel like we’re set up well and we are excited about what we’re offering to customers. I feel super good about that. You’re going to see depth versus breadth, how we positioned holiday in different locations in the front of the store and the back of the store, and that we are leaning into that value on up to 50 off.

“We’ve put a lot of investment and energy in driving and improving our private label proposition, particularly in apparel,” Jones added.

Kohl’s private labels, which currently represent roughly 30 percent of the retailer’s total business, at one time was as high as 50 percent. While Jones wouldn’t discuss private label percentages, he did say, “We’re definitely under-penetrated relative to where we believe we should be going forward.”

Raymond said consumers are trading down, shopping earlier, with more frequent visits to stores and online but leaving with smaller baskets each time.

“We’re starting our marketing a week earlier this year, and we’ve already started with our cyber deals this week,” she said. “We also know those repeat trips are going to be critical for us, since [consumers] are going to be shopping more times. We need to make sure we’re gathering that share of wallet, so we’ve got a really, really compelling promotional calendar this year. Gifting is a big deal for people. It’s hard. It’s complicated, so we’re trying to keep it really simple.

“Last year, we had most of our Christmas decor and holiday stuff right at the front of the store. We’ve got that this year and we also have a really strong statement in the home center, around our tree farm seasonal decor ornaments, so that we can build up another kind of moment to get customers excited about Christmas, particularly around getting the home set up,” Jones said. There’s also “a stronger statement, both in aisle and on aisle, for those key gifting items.” Boxed jewelry will be more noticeable, presented on tables in aisles.

“You’ll see more pulses of holiday throughout the course of the store to create that level of engagement as you walk through,” said Jones. “And we’re really excited about some of the novelty items we got in here,” including seasonal ornaments, he said, citing one replicating a pack of macaroni and cheese, and another a hot dog. “It’s about putting some humor and personality” into the presentation, he said. The holiday merchandise began landing in stores this week.

Asked if prices will be higher than last year, Raymond, referring to retailing generally and not specifically referring to Kohl’s, said, “The perception from consumers is they’re paying more. That’s what we are hearing.”

Elaborating on the subject, Jones said, “The world’s pretty complex at the moment, but our job is to make sure we give the best value possible for the customers, and we feel really good about the amount of effort and work we’ve put in with our vendors and partners. We’re in as good a place as we could be. We’re really trying to make sure that we can call out the great value we have. I think time will tell, from the consumer’s perspective, whether they feel like the holiday period is a more expensive period for them.”

A view of the holiday assortment at Kohl’s.



#Kohls #Crossroads #Refines #Christmas #Presentation

Related Posts

Do Magnesium Body Sprays Really Work?

If you’re like the many out there looking to up their magnesium intake, then you’re most likely already toying with the idea of including a magnesium body spray somewhere in…

Ottolinger Spring 2026 Ready to Wear Runway, Fashion Show & Collection

For Ottolinger’s latest runway presentation, the brand’s signature body-skimming moto pants received a reinvention. Departing from the usual stretch fabrics, Berlin-based design duo Christa Bösch and Cosima Gadient intermixed them…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *