Kohl’s to Debut Smaller Concept Store This Week

Kohl’s (Menomonee Falls, Wisc.) is opening a smaller footprint store in Tacoma, Wash., designed to allow the retailer to test new ideas and store experiences that could be used in new or existing locations in the future.

The 35,000-square-foot store, set to open Nov. 4, is less than half the size of a traditional Kohl’s.

New elements being incorporated into the Tacoma store include:

• Localized assortment: Kohl’s is using information technology to create a highly localized experience and is catering the new store’s merchandise toward the active lifestyle customer in that market by offering a more focused assortment of outdoor gear (Columbia, Eddie Bauer, etc.).
• Storytelling and inspiration: Through the use of modern fixturing, new displays and shelving, product vignettes, and a greater use of mannequins, Kohl’s is seeking to provide a layout that guides customers through the store to help them find what they are looking for.

The Tacoma concept store also houses a Sephora shop-in-shop – earlier this year, Kohl’s announced plans to offer the French retailer of personal care and beauty products in all its 1100-plus stores nationwide – and Discover @ Kohl’s, a new feature that curates emerging, established and diverse-owned brands new to the retailer.

Kohl’s signaled a move toward smaller spaces earlier this year, when it announced it was shedding the department store label to become a “focused lifestyle concept” in future stores.