Sephora Coming To Several Kohl's Stores In Massachusetts And New Hampshire
BURLINGTON (CBS/CNN) -- Sephora is coming to several Kohl's stores in the Boston area. The mini shops will open sometime this year, the company said.
Massachusetts Kohl's stores in Burlington, Chelmsford, Framingham, Leominster, Pembroke, Plymouth, Stoughton, Taunton and Walpole will be getting Sephoras, as will New Hampshire stores in Bedford, Nashua, Newington, Plaistow, Salem and West Lebanon.
The new cosmetic sections will be about 2,500 square feet inside Kohl's and replicate "the look and feel of a freestanding Sephora," Kohl's says.
"Within all Sephora at Kohl's locations, customers can explore the signature Sephora experience with a carefully curated assortment of prestige makeup, skincare, hair, and fragrance brands, as well as innovations in clean beauty and self-care," Kohl's said in a statement.
Across the country, 400 new Sephora locations will open in Kohl's stores.
Kohl's, which is facing pressure from Wall Street despite its relative strength in the battered department store sector, has been a target of various activist investors for months.
Hedge fund Macellum Advisors, which owns about 5% of Kohl's stock, said in a letter that the retail chain's board of directors and leadership team spent last year "materially mismanaging the business and failing to implement necessary" improvements.
Kohl's responded in its own letter to Macellum that its strategy is "producing results," including from its partnership with Sephora to open mini-beauty shops in stores and the addition of new athletic and casual clothing brands.
Other creative steps to draw in Kohl's shoppers include partnering with Amazon to accept returns of Amazon purchases at its stores and leasing out space at a handful of locations to Planet Fitness and Aldi.
Before and during the pandemic, Kohl's had been struggling: Sales stagnated from 2016 to 2019 and plunged 20% to $15 billion in 2020, with Covid-19 restrictions forcing many stores to close in the spring, summer and early fall.
But the chain rebounded in 2021. During its latest quarter ending October 30, sales at stores open for at least a year increased 14.7% compared with the same stretch in 2020.
Still, some on Wall Street believe Kohl's is underperforming and are pressuring it to make changes or accept a buyout offer.
(© Copyright 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. CNN's Nathaniel Meyersohn contributed to this report.)
