By Savyata Mishra
(Reuters) – Kohl’s could scrap its annual forecasts on Thursday when the U.S. department store chain reports quarterly earnings, analysts said, as the abrupt ouster of its top boss adds to its challenges against the backdrop of pressure from tariffs.
CEO Ashley Buchanan, hired in January and tasked with reviving an extended slump in sales, was fired earlier this month for steering business to a vendor with whom he had a personal relationship.
“Kohl’s is very likely to pull its annual forecast altogether when it reports results on Thursday,” said Jane Hali, CEO of investment research firm Jane Hali & Associates.
Buchanan’s exit comes at a difficult period as Kohl’s also faces the industry-wide impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping levies.
Larger rival Macy’s and several companies have trimmed their expectations for this year, while others have pulled their forecast altogether, citing increased uncertainty from the U.S. trade policy and consumer spending habits.
Investors will look for interim CEO and company veteran Michael Bender’s plans to stabilize sales and profit margins.
“The prior CEO, who had only been at Kohl’s for about four months, had yet to implement a medium-term strategy, and his departure could delay efforts to stabilize market share losses in its core apparel business,” Fitch analyst David Silverman said.
The truce in the trade war between Washington and Beijing helped to lift consumer confidence in May after deteriorating for five straight months. Consumers, however, continued to worry about tariffs raising prices and hurting the economy.
“There’s little that Kohl’s can do to avoid tariffs since practically everything it sells is imported and it is a U.S.-only business,” said Morningstar analyst David Swartz.
Kohl’s in May forecast first-quarter comparable sales to decline between 4% and 4.3% and a loss per share in the range of 20 cents to 24 cents.
Analysts on average expect a 5% drop in same-store sales and a loss of 26 cents per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.
(Reporting by Savyata Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
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