Kohl’s said Friday it was closing 27 underperforming stores in April – a third of them in California – as the struggling chain aims to boost profits and improve sagging sales.
Two of those closures will be in San Diego County, in Clairemont Mesa and Encinitas.
The San Diego store is located at 5505 Balboa Ave. and the North County store at 134 N. El Camino Real in the Encinitas Marketplace shopping center.
The news comes just a day after Macy’s announced dozens of closures, two of them local, in Mission Valley and Chula Vista.
Kohl’s declined to disclose the number of employees affected by the closures, which will take place in 15 states. The company said workers have been informed and were offered a “competitive severance package” or the chance to apply to other open roles at Kohl’s.
The sites identified for closure include 10 in California, mostly inNorthern California. Kohl’s has 1,150 stores nationwide.
The announcement comes as the Wisconsin-based chain has posted 11 consecutive quarters of sales declines. Michaels CEO and retail veteran Ashley Buchanan is set to step in as the chief executive of Kohl’s next week.
Buchanan will take over the top job from Tom Kingsbury, who will stay as an adviser to the new CEO and retain his position on Kohl’s board until his scheduled retirement in May.
“As we continue to build on our long-term growth strategy, it is important that we also take difficult but necessary actions to support the health and future of our business for our customers and our teams,” Kingsbury said in a statement.
On Thursday, Macy’s disclosed the locations of 66 stores that it will shutter. The majority of these stores will close during the company’s first fiscal quarter this year, Macy’s said.
In November, Macy’s reported falling profit and sales in its fiscal third quarter. It raised sales expectations for the current fiscal year, but lowered profit projections.
The Macy’s stores set to close account for 25% of the company’s overall square footage but less than 10% of its sales, the company said.
