Kohl’s Corp., furthering turnaround efforts, has a revamped back-to-school presentation for 2026, prioritizing Nike, Levi’s, and opening prices on private brands.
There’s also improved signage, more mannequins to show trends and styles, and a new AI shopping assistant.
Kohl’s has simplified its merchandising in the stores to focus on fewer, better-selling brands being carried in greater depth, for what executives describe as “easier, simpler shopping, and clarity” in the offering.
In addition, “thousands” of items are priced under $25, in both private and national brands. For example, private brands such as Kids’ So, Sonoma Goods for Life, and Jumping Beans are selling tops and bottoms starting at $6.99. Another private brand, Tek Gear, has fleece starting at $19.99. And kitchen electrics and portable vacuums are being offered for $20 and under, while Kohl’s “Deal Bar” features organization solutions, food storage, desk accessories, and room decor for $10 and under.
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“Customers will find up to a high single-digit increase in depth in key areas like kids, juniors, and young men’s. And this comes across a broad spectrum of products, particularly in areas like T-shirts, fleece, denim and socks and kind of wardrobe builders that are so important for that back-to-school period,” Nick Jones, chief merchandising and digital officer, said during a press briefing Wednesday. “And importantly, we’re enhancing product storytelling navigation and discovery through more curated presentations, stronger brand moments, and digital tools that make it easier for customers to shop the season.
“When thinking about stores, we’ve elevated the experience, particularly around proprietary brands with more mannequin styling, displays and signages that help customers easily understand each brand and to create theater and excitement with shops that complete the looks. This is covered across the store floor, but in areas particularly relevant from a back-to-school perspective in areas such as So and Tek Gear [two private brands] where we’re making it really easy for customers to visualize how different pieces work together.” Jones also pointed to the new “Find Your Fit” signage making product selection easier.
“We’ve made sure key items such as backpacks, lunchboxes, and water bottles are all properly positioned at the front of the store so they’re in high-impact areas, clear in our statements, and really easy for customers to shop.”
Kohl’s also created a “tunnel” for key styles and trends, in a display inspired by the tunnel walk, a pre-game ritual where athletes walk off the bus and into the stadium to show off their fashion outfits and personal style.
According to Kohl’s executives, the “must-have” looks for bts are relaxed denim, varsity and retro-inspired styles, seersucker, graphic prints, and popular licensed character collections, including NFL, Pokémon, Minecraft, and Netflix’s “KPop Demon Hunters.”
On the footwear side, Kohl’s is spotlighting Skechers, Nike, Converse Chuck Taylors, mary janes, and clogs from So and Sonoma Goods for Life, and backpacks by Nike, JanSport, and Adidas.
New private brand arrivals include Brixton for young men, the SO Office Edit collection for juniors, and So jewelry and hair accessories.
Kohl’s new back-to-school marketing campaign, “We are so back (to school),” evokes themes of confidence, excitement, and self-expression. Kohl’s is capturing that “first-day” of school feeling with broadcast spots set to Charli XCX’s high-energy track, “B2b.” The campaign features the return of the “Kohl’s Mom,” portrayed by actress Ellie Kemper, alongside teens in Kohl’s “must-have” brands and trends.
The retailer also plans to stage a “Kohl’s So-Back Studio” in New York City this August, which it described as an “immersive pop-up experience that will offer product customization, interactive content creation and exclusive shopping incentives.”
This bts season, which for Kohl’s kicked off last weekend, is of heightened importance for the Menomonee Falls, Wis.-based company, which is deep in turnaround mode. There have been recent signs of progress, as for the first quarter of this year, improvements were seen in some key metrics. Kohl’s was able to drive expenses down and reduced top- and bottom-line declines. For the three months ended May 2, Kohl’s net sales decreased 1.7 percent to $3 billion, with comparable sales down 1.1 percent. The net loss was $14 million compared to a net loss of $15 million in the prior year.
“I do see momentum in the business,” Kohl’s chief executive officer Michael Bender told WWD when the first-quarter results were issued. “We had our best comp sales performance in over four years. Even though it was down, that 1.1 percent is an indicator of progressive improvement.”
Kohl’s forecasts that for 2026, net sales and comparable sales will range from down 2 percent to flat.
“We know that families are navigating tight budgets, extremely busy schedules and more choices than ever,” said Christie Raymond, Kohl’s chief marketing officer. “And we know parents are looking for value, but we also know that they want to help their kids feel confident and excited as they head into the new school year…We are leaning heavily into the brands that kids are most excited about, and leading with Nike. This is a brand that is continuing to resonate strongly with Gen Alpha and teen shoppers.”
Raymond also said that Kohl’s will be offering “strong opening price points, clear value messaging and saving opportunities throughout the season that really helps families’ budgets go further. And we have some new opportunities to save. In fact, today and yesterday we had our first-ever Buy Kohl’s event where we are offering 30 percent off on all of our proprietary brands and really highlighting the quality and value that our exclusive products provide.
“We’re bringing back Ellie Kemper as the Kohl’s mom and we have two broadcast spots that will be set to a Charlie XCX song. They began airing on Sunday,” Raymond said. “In one spot, a student interacts with the Kohl’s mom by asking her to turn up the volume to the song.” Kohl’s has also created an Hispanic version of the spot.
The bts campaign has three phases, Raymond said. Phase one launched last weekend and is centered around “inspiration and early consideration” for what to buy. Phase two is centered on “showcasing more of our broader assortment and really highlighting some of the key brands and the style ideas,” while the third phase focuses on “convenience and value” in later days of the season.
Raymond said the AI shopping assistant was introduced for Mother’s Day. “We’ve now expanded the technology across Kohl’s.com. And so we see this as a great shopping companion so shoppers can easily compare products, search for specific items, identify specific needs and receive those recommendations for them.”
Also for the bts season, Raymond said, “We’re focusing a lot of our marketing on YouTube, which is a really key platform for us. We’ve partnered with various creators,” including Jesser, an influencer and sports content creator said to have over 40 million subscribers, and Cooper DeJean, the Philadelphia Eagles professional football player.
