Kohl’s hires executives to boost tech, reverse sagging online sales
Kohl’s Corp. is hoping to bolster the online and technology side of the business with the hiring of two new executives in as many months.
On Aug. 19 Kohl’s announced it hired Steven Dee as the chief technology officer. Dee was previously the chief information and technology officer for the skincare company Rodan and Fields for more than five years; and before that was in various roles with Nike, including vice president of sales, geography and Converse technology.
“Retail is an exciting and dynamic industry that depends on smart, scalable technology solutions to serve associates all across the country, enable the systems that run operations, and ultimately improve the way Kohl’s can serve our customers,” Dee said in a statement. “I look forward to joining the leadership team and driving the goals of this great company.”
Previous to Dee, Siobhán Mc Feeney was the CTO but she left the company in April after being with Kohl’s since 2020.
In July, Kohl’s hired Arianne Parisi as chief digital officer. Before joining Kohl’s, Parisi was the global chief digital officer and North America chief digital officer for JD Sports Fashion for six years; and before that she was the senior vice president of digital operations and customer experience for JD Finish Line.
“As the pace of retail transformation accelerates, Kohl’s can uniquely serve today’s families,” Parisi said in a statement in July. “I’m honored to join and support our incredible teams as we enhance the digital experience for our 60 million customers, creating a seamless, inspiring, and personalized journey that reflects how they shop and live today.”
Dee will be handling the technology infrastructure and performance, while Parisi will be focused on the customer experience on both Kohls.com and the Kohl’s app, along with other digital platforms.
Both roles will report to interim-CEO Michael Bender.
As Kohl’s tries to turn its sales around, the digital strategy will be a major component for the company’s future performance, particularly as it is reducing coupon exclusions.
In May, Kohl’s reported a sales decrease of 4.1% during the first quarter of the year. Also, during the first quarter digital sales decreased 7.7%
Jill Timm, chief financial officer for Kohl’s, said the company has “Seen an improvement in our digital business” however “it continues to underperform.”
“The digital business over penetrates in the home category as well as our core credit customer, both of which underperformed in the quarter,” Timm said in a call with analysts and investors in May. “However, we are seeing the digital business perform well to the investment we made in adding brands back into the coupons.”
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