It wasn’t all that long ago that Kohl’s was the envy of the American retail industry. It was arguably the fastest-growing chain in the country (helped in part by its spot-on home furnishings business), because it took the best from the discount store trade—central checkout counters, shopping carts, and budget-friendly pricing—and combined it with classic department store tactics, like an assortment of well-known national brands, high-low pricing, and better sight lines.

But that was before. More recently, a rotating cast of CEOs—four in four years—brought with them an inconsistent merchandising strategy that confused shoppers and vendors alike. A few rounds of hostile takeover attempts didn’t help. Then competing retailers got better as the economy soured. Suddenly, the company’s highly promotional and meandering merchandising strategy didn’t work as well as it once did.

Now the brand finds itself on the endangered retail species list, often cited as the next national chain likely to collapse. And while fashion apparel is still the heart of Kohl’s, its home business—especially soft home fashions—might help return the company to its glory days.

That process may have begun during the first quarter of the company’s fiscal year, just reported last month. After a bad previous quarter, the company said its home category outperformed the overall store, even registering slightly positive comp store sales. How did they do it? New private label programs Miryana and Mingle & Co. both got more emphasis in soft home and tabletop, two categories that have always been critical for Kohl’s. Executives said home decor also did well, with single-digit comp store gains that were the result of going broader, if not necessarily deeper, in its seasonal goods area.

Home decor has been one of the areas where the retailer’s inconsistent merchandising strategy has led to troubles. Under a previous CEO, it was dramatically expanded at the expense of a reduced soft home textiles assortment, causing problems for both categories. That approach was dialed back under subsequent leaders; looking at the company’s first quarter results, the strategy seems to be working.

Housewares, which has also suffered from too many different strategies over the years, showed some strength as well, particularly with new products from Ninja and Shark, the company said.

In its heyday, the well-edited housewares department always relied on national brands—but, again, under one round of leadership, much of that was replaced with a private label program built around the Food Network brand, and sales suffered. Small electrics and cookware are two categories where shoppers want national brands, and it seems Kohl’s has gotten the message.

Brands are also critical for the retailer’s soft bed and bath assortment, even as it continues with long-standing private label names like The Big One, Madison Park and Sonoma Goods for Life. Those are balanced by national brand names—often sub-brands or derivatives—including Simply Vera Vera Wang, Laura Ashley and Eddie Bauer.

Kohl’s continued to be in the red for this past quarter, though the net loss narrowed slightly to $14 million, versus a $15 million loss the year before. Still, the retailer has a lot of work to do to get to where it needs to be. Despite recording an overall profit for 2025, its net revenues have declined for 16 consecutive quarters year over year, and its annual sales last fiscal year were about $14.8 billion versus its peak in 2018, when they hit $20.2 billion. That’s a 26 percent decrease. In the meantime their stock price has gone down more than 70 percent over the past five years.

No matter how well home does, it cannot drive the entire store; historically, it has represented about 15 percent of overall sales. Still, at about $2.2 billion in annual sales, the Kohl’s home department represents a substantial business, ranking it among the largest in the country. If they keep up the momentum in the category, investors, suppliers and shoppers all stand to benefit.

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Warren Shoulberg is the former editor in chief for several leading B2B publications. He has been a guest lecturer at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business; received honors from the International Furnishings and Design Association and the Fashion Institute of Technology; and been cited by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN and other media as a leading industry expert. His Retail Watch columns offer deep industry insights on major markets and product categories.