Kohl's lowers annual sales forecast again on muted holiday shopping demand

(Reuters) -Kohl's on Tuesday forecast a bigger drop in annual sales than previously expected, a sign the department-store chain is struggling to draw in shoppers ahead of the promotion-heavy holiday shopping season.

Shares of the Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin-based company were down 15% before the bell, as it also reported worse-than-expected third-quarter results.

Higher prices of groceries and other essentials have stretched consumer budgets, particularly among middle-income shoppers, keeping them from visiting shopping centers and splurging on apparel and footwear.

Kohl's (NYSE:KSS ) announced the exit of its CEO Tom Kingsbury a day earlier. He will be succeeded by Ashley Buchanan, retail veteran and Michaels Companies (NASDAQ:MIK ) chief, in January.

The CEO's surprise departure comes as the company enters the critical holiday shopping period including Black Friday, one of the busiest times for retailers and shoppers.

"Our third-quarter results did not meet our expectations, as sales remained soft in our apparel and footwear businesses," Kingsbury said.

Consumers have turned increasingly bargain-focused as retailers launch early Black Friday deals across apparel, footwear and home goods, with steep promotions at Walmart (NYSE:WMT ) and Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN ) as well as off-price chains such as TJX (NYSE:TJX ) Cos heating up the competition.

Under the outgoing CEO, Kohl's had focused on improving product assortment in home decor, gifts and kid's clothing categories as part of the company's turnaround efforts, in response to its slowing core apparel and footwear business.

It logged a decrease in comparable sales of 9.3% for the quarter ended Nov. 2, its eleventh consecutive quarter of declines. Analysts on average estimated a 5.1% drop, according to data compiled by LSEG.



Earnings-per-share missed expectations, coming in at 20 cents per share compared to an estimate of 28 cents.

The company now expects full-year net sales in the range of a 7% to 8% decline, compared to its prior forecast of a drop between 4% and 6%. This is Kohl's third straight quarter with a lowered sales forecast.

Source: Investing.com