The parking sign from Amazon.com Inc. is outside a Kohl’s Corp. department store. in Huntington Beach, California, USA, on Saturday, May 11, 2019.
Kyle Grillot | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Kohl’s said it added at least 2 million new customers last year thanks to an unlikely friend it found on Amazon.
“While the details of the partnership are confidential, we will continue to see that this increases both sales and profits,” said CEO Michelle Gass during a conference call on Tuesday morning.
Kohl’s began accepting returns from Amazon at 10 of its stores in the spring of 2017. In the summer of 2019, Amazon’s return kiosks were open across the country. The hope was that the service would increase pedestrian traffic and increase sales.
According to Kohl’s, a third of these new visitors were millennials. The company probably hopes to keep these new customers coming back to visitors.
Conversion rates are tending to rise for people who visit Kohl stores to return a package to Amazon, Gass said, which means that visitors are increasingly checking something at the checkout before they go.
Gass has been looking for collaborations with other big name brands to expand its customer base, including a future partnership with the beauty company Sephora.
Earlier Tuesday, Kohl’s reported fourth quarter earnings and sales that exceeded analysts’ estimates. The company expects stronger growth ahead. He also reinstated his dividends and said he plans to buy back shares.
Meanwhile, Kohl’s is also facing pressure from a group of activist investors who tried to take control of Kohl’s board. Among other things, the group said it does not believe Kohl’s link to Amazon is increasing sales. In a letter published in late February, activists highlighted Kohl’s “reluctance to share detailed information about the program with investors.”
Kohl’s shares recently rose about 1%. Its shares have risen 45% in the past 12 months since Monday’s market closed, bringing its market value to $ 8.99 billion. This is bigger than rival Nordstrom’s and Macy’s.