The Christmas trees are going up in stores alongside Halloween candy as a massive wave of year-end shopping begins. One store that is likely to be a major beneficiary of the holiday season, according to a new study, is retailer Kohl’s (KSS).
Consulting firm AlixPartners asked consumers where they planned to do their shopping for the holidays this year. When it came to department stores, Kohl’s won top honors, thanks to a huge lead with the Baby Boomer generation and a decent showing with Gen X and Gen Z.
Yet even with this win, the news was not all good for Kohl’s. The company is expecting a loss in sales this year of between 4% and 6% as the department store concept struggles to remain relevant in a world where most turn to online shopping. AlixPartners noted that retail outlets are going to have to figure out what they can do to keep customers coming back in an era of one-click online shopping.
Fighting Against Irrelevancy
While Kohl’s is trying to figure out how to get customers back into its stores, the company will try a few new points to turn things around. One involves Naadam, a native cashmere brand. Kohl’s will feature the Naadam “Soft Collection” in its stores, as well as in its online shopping operations, starting November 8.
It has been called a “new kind of knitwear,” and features 100% Mongolian cashmere. Available for both men and women, and with items priced between $79 and $139, perhaps the Soft Collection can pull in interest where other products and promotions have failed.
Is Kohl’s a Good Stock to Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Sell consensus rating on KSS stock based on one Buy, four Holds and four Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 6.06% loss in its share price over the past year, the average KSS price target of $19.72 per share implies 3.68% upside potential.
