Kohl’s to close 18 underperforming stores

The as-yet-undisclosed stores to be shuttered represent a small slice of Kohl’s nationwide portfolio, but the move is an unusual step for a retailer that throughout the 2000s pursued aggressive expansion.

Excluding items, the company earned $1.58 per share, beating the average analyst estimate of $1.56 per share.

“As painful as it is to close stores, we applaud Kohl’s for taking action that is necessary in order to compete more effectively in a more complex and challenging retail environment”, Carter Harrison, an analyst at the Conlumino retail research firm, told investors.

Revenue of $6.39 billion, also down, was in line with expectations.

“I am particularly encouraged by the 4 percent increase [in same-store sales] we saw between Thanksgiving and Christmas”, Mansell said. Net income was $673 milion, or $3.46 per diluted share, down from $867 million, or $4.24 per share, a year earlier.

Kohl’s said this month that total sales rose only 0.8 percent in the fourth quarter ended January 30, as unseasonably warm weather in November and December hurt sales of cold-weather goods. And when they do want to buy fashion, they’re spending more time in stores like T.J. Maxx to grab fat discounts.

The department store has 1,164 locations in 49 states. Comparable sales increased 0.4% in Q4, compared to an increase of 3.7% in the prior year period.

This year, the company’s forecast sales to be little changed, expecting a range of between down 0.5 percent to up 0.5 percent. CFO Wes McDonald went on to say that Kohl’s has only shuttered about five locations since he joined in 2003.

Kohl’s said it plans to focus on online sales like Macy’s and other retailers.

Kohl’s Corp. issued a weak annual revenue forecast Thursday after posting a 20 percent drop in fourth-quarter profits.

The company also plans to experiment with other ways to drive sales, including opening seven smaller Kohl’s stores “in various regions around the country”, and opening 12 Fila outlet stores, among other initiatives.