Kohl’s dismisses his CEO. The American department store has terminated Ashley Buchanan, company CEO, this April 30 after an internal investigation. As the company has communicated, the decision comes after discovering that the Executive has violated the company’s policy to the Grant commercial contracts to suppliers with whom it maintained a personal relationshipwithout informing about it as exempts the ethical code of the company.
According to the documentation presented before the Securities and Exchange Commission, Buchanan favored said supplier in “unusual conditions” and imposed a multimillionaire consulting agreement in his favor. As a consequence, Buchanan will lose all your shares compensation and must return part of its signing bonus, valued at 2.5 million dollars.
With just four months in office, Buchanan will be relieved by Michael Bender temporarily, president of the Board of Directors of the company. Bender has been appointed Interim CEO until the company hires a search firm to find a new permanent leader. Bender has more than thirty years of experience in the retail sector, being CEO in the Optical company Eyemart Express and occupying executive positions in Walmart or Pepsico.
Kohl’s dismisses Ashley Buchanan while going through a sales decrease
After the news of the dismissal, the market has reacted positively at the exit of Buchanan. Kohl’s shares have fired 7.6%, reaching a price of $ 7.21 and a market capitalization of 802.6 million dollars, about 707.2 million euros. However, the company has presented a forecast for the first quarter of 2025 with a comparable sales fall between 4 % and 4.3 %.
In the results that will be published on May 29, the company estimates an operating benefit that will range between 40 and 45 million dollars, with losses per share of 0.20 and $ 0.24. In parallel, the company has carried out important real estate restructuring. Although it keeps about 1,000 points of sale in operation, He has had to close his logistics center in San Bernardino, California and 27 physical stores.
Based in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, Kohl’s continues to operate as one of the department stores in the United States since 1962. In 2023, the company closed the year with a sales fall of 3.4%, Although he managed to return his business to positive figures, with a benefit of 317 million dollars, compared to the losses of 19 million of the previous year.
