Dive Brief:
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Kohl’s is enlarging its home assortment by 40%, with home goods and decor from the new effort already available in stores and online.
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The department store has been working over the past year to reposition and expand the assortment, and the early customer response is positive, Nick Jones, Kohl’s chief merchandising and digital officer, said in a statement.
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Marketing includes a pop-up in New York City and partnerships with home design experts, according to a company press release.
Dive Insight:
Home goods and furniture sales have been under pressure in the last couple of years, after enjoying something of a boom at the peak of the pandemic. Higher interest rates that have slowed home sales and inflation’s hit to discretionary spending have contributed to those declines.
In February, furniture and home goods sales fell 6.3% from last year, the category's 12th straight quarter of declines, according to Wells Fargo analysts led by Zachary Fadem.
But that appears to be easing, at least somewhat. Wallet share of and growth in furnishings improved from January to February, Wells Fargo found.
“Recall that both categories started to flip negative in March/April of '23, and we expect declines to moderate in the months ahead, with added 'juice' should early Spring weather cooperate,” Fadem said in a recent client note.
While Kohl’s reported strength in home during the holiday quarter, the retailer more broadly has lost market share in the space to players like off-price stores and Target that have more appealing price points, according to GlobalData Managing Director Neil Saunders.
That could be why Jones emphasized that the new options are “on-trend and affordable.”
“As part of Kohl’s broader strategy to drive growth, we identified a real opportunity in home, and we’ve been thoughtfully building the category to position ourselves as a destination for home goods,” he said. “We’re incredibly encouraged by initial customer response to our home decor assortment, and we see Kohl’s becoming a more formidable player in the home business.”
The expansion covers wall art, glassware and ceramic home decor, barware, botanicals and lighting, per the press release. Kohl’s is offering a curated assortment of some items, like wall art, that are new to it, as well as an elevation of basics like bedding and bath that it has always offered. The strategy also entails an effort “to be a year-round destination for everyday occasions and seasonal holidays,” with a promise to “deliver 60% newness in home and holiday decor seasonally.”
Kohl’s isn’t the only player with its sights on home goods despite the market’s softness. Last year, Gap Inc.’s Banana Republic debuted “BR Home,” featuring bedding, rugs, pillows and decor.
