Kohl's to hold marathon hours for Christmas rush

Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images

In the wake of a Black Friday weekend that pushed retailers' hours earlier and earlier—in many cases leading to Thanksgiving Day openings—Kohl's said Thursday that it will extend its holiday schedule to 24 hours a day at most of its locations in the days leading up to Christmas.

For the first time ever, the retailer will open its doors at 6 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 20, and keep them open until 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve—meaning they will be open for more than 100 straight hours. Last year, stores were open from 6 a.m. to midnight leading up to Dec. 24.

"The holiday season is an eventful time for families, and Kohl's is making it easy for shoppers to wrap up their last-minute gift giving," Michelle Gass, the retailer's chief customer officer, said in a release.

Because of the shortened calendar—there are six fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year compared with last year—retailers are coming up with new ways to steal share from competitors and bring shoppers into their stores. These include extended hours and dramatic price cuts.

Analytics firm ShopperTrak said that the days leading up to Christmas will be especially critical this year, saying it expects the last four days before the 25th will be among the 10 busiest. The group attributed this to the fact that there is one fewer weekend to shop, which will cause more people to make last-minute purchases.

Retailers who opened on Thanksgiving Day this year were rewarded, with both ShopperTrak and the National Retail Federation saying that the day stole traffic and dollars from the traditional Black Friday hours. According to a survey by the NRF, 31.8 percent of people shopped on Thanksgiving Day, which was an increase of 26.7 percent from last year.

While it remains to be seen whether other retailers will follow in Kohl's tracks this Christmas, some who didn't adhere to the trend of earlier hours reportedly lost some sales on Thanksgiving Day. Pamela Quintiliano, director, specialty retail, at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, said that because Aéropostale didn't open until midnight, competitors like Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister, which opened at 8 p.m., stole its traffic.

Kohl's last month reported a 1.6 percent dip in same-store sales for the third quarter, which caused some analysts to express concern about its upcoming holiday.

Bank of America on Thursday morning upgraded Kohl's to a "buy" rating, saying the company is finally poised to reap the benefits of its sales growth initiatives now that inventory is back at manageable levels.

[Edited 12/6/13 4:54am]

Good for Kohl's. Too bad they have a lot of overpriced garbage.

Stymie said:

Good for Kohl's. Too bad they have a lot of overpriced garbage.

Are we thinking of the same store?

I go there quite a bit and get good deals on decent items. I was there earlier.

chocolate1 said:

Stymie said:

Good for Kohl's. Too bad they have a lot of overpriced garbage.

Are we thinking of the same store?

I go there quite a bit and get good deals on decent items. I was there earlier.

If you look at most of their prices they tend to be high. Even when something is 60% off its 30 to 40 dollars.

But their clearance rack can be real cheap.

I rarely ever shop at Kohl's.It's a bland,unexciting store....like Marshalls' and Ross

SoulAlive said:

I rarely ever shop at Kohl's.It's a bland,unexciting store....like Marshalls' and Ross

Never heard of Ross, can't stand Marshalls. I don't like stores where you have to search through random racks.

Bland, tho? What are you looking for?

Unless this is coupled with a very robust marketing campaign, I can't imagine how this would be anything other than a horrible drain on the company's expenses. Kohl's may or may not have great stuff, but no one I know ever thinks about them.

[Edited 12/7/13 6:54am]

chocolate1 said:

SoulAlive said:

The thing with Kohl's is they do their pricing like Shopko.. on the tag is a ridiculous price, then they advertise a "sale' and mark it the price stores "normally" sell it for... I like Kohls tho... I like their costume Jewelry section and they have a good selection of clothes for men. And I usually find wallets to match any purse I have, I wont pay ridic prices for wallets even if I have a great purse! ..

I have shopped at Ross once in San Diego and once in Chicago.. The San diego one had some good stuff for CHEAP! I dont remember much of the Chicago store because I had DURAN DURAN on my mind!

Stymie said:

SoulAlive said:

I rarely ever shop at Kohl's.It's a bland,unexciting store....like Marshalls' and Ross

Ross should be ashamed of themselves.

They really should. I've popped in there a few times when I've been out west, and they struck me as two shades or so off of a garage sale. It looks like they put no budget into the presentation or upkeep of their stores; many of the racks are bare; and the discount prices, while decent, were pretty much on par with Marshalls and TJMAxx, which I find to be far nicer stores.

Lammastide said:

Stymie said:

SoulAlive said: Ross should be ashamed of themselves.

They really should. I've popped in there a few times when I've been out west, and they struck me as two shades or so off of a garage sale. It looks like they put no budget into the presentation or upkeep of their stores; many of the racks are bare; and the discount prices, while decent, were pretty much on par with Marshalls and TJMAxx, which I find to be far nicer stores.

Yes, the store did have the thrift store feel to it... But that could be how they keep the prices low..

tinaz said:

Lammastide said:

They really should. I've popped in there a few times when I've been out west, and they struck me as two shades or so off of a garage sale. It looks like they put no budget into the presentation or upkeep of their stores; many of the racks are bare; and the discount prices, while decent, were pretty much on par with Marshalls and TJMAxx, which I find to be far nicer stores.

Yes, the store did have the thrift store feel to it... But that could be how they keep the prices low..

Of course, but... damn. I just felt like their discounts could have been deeper for the many, many, many corners they are obviously cutting.

I should concede that I've only been to 2 or 3 stores in the Portland, Oregon, area. It could be that other stores are much better kept.

Lammastide said:

tinaz said:

Yes, the store did have the thrift store feel to it... But that could be how they keep the prices low..

Of course, but... damn. I just felt like their discounts could have been deeper for the many, many, many corners they are obviously cutting.

I should concede that I've only been to 2 or 3 stores in the Portland, Oregon, area. It could be that other stores are much better kept.

True!!!

San Diego's wasnt empty, but pretty garage sale-ish... Very crowded, fairly organized but nothing like a Kohls or Macys!! And by fairly organized I mean, shoes over here... rest of stuff over there...

Lammastide said:

Stymie said:

SoulAlive said: Ross should be ashamed of themselves.

They really should. I've popped in there a few times when I've been out west, and they struck me as two shades or so off of a garage sale. It looks like they put no budget into the presentation or upkeep of their stores; many of the racks are bare; and the discount prices, while decent, were pretty much on par with Marshalls and TJMAxx, which I find to be far nicer stores.

I used to shop at Ross but in recent years they have cut stripped the men's

department bare so I don't fuck with them now. Kohl's is alright. At least there is no shortage of inventory but yes sometimes you have to search a little hard to find sales. I don't care for Marshall's either but there is one in Charlotte in an uspscale area that has a larger inventory than other stores in city. I'm not that much of a shopper for clothes. I generally receive a lot for Xmas from family members so I don't have to do so much.

Lammastide said:

Stymie said:

SoulAlive said: Ross should be ashamed of themselves.

They really should. I've popped in there a few times when I've been out west, and they struck me as two shades or so off of a garage sale. It looks like they put no budget into the presentation or upkeep of their stores; many of the racks are bare; and the discount prices, while decent, were pretty much on par with Marshalls and TJMAxx, which I find to be far nicer stores.

Bingo. You sir are correct.

Lammastide said:

Unless this is coupled with a very robust marketing campaign, I can't imagine how this would be anything other than a horrible drain on the company's expenses.

Macys did this last year or the year before, it worked for them. Apparently the overnight crew can spiffy up the place because during the day there seems to be no time to do it. They said it kept the store looking great.

[Edited 12/7/13 20:13pm]

kewlschool said:

Lammastide said:

Unless this is coupled with a very robust marketing campaign, I can't imagine how this would be anything other than a horrible drain on the company's expenses.

Macys did this last year or the year before, it worked for them. Apparently the overnight crew can spiffy up the place because during the day there seems to be no time to do it. They said it kept the store looking great.

[Edited 12/7/13 20:13pm]

That's cool. I hope it works out for Kohl's.

I wish them many sales.

*

However, I won't be one of the people participating in the rush as I'm not into crowds & stampedes.

i was at kohls yesterday because they sent me one of those $10 gift card promos....i usually go to the men's dept. and find the men's clearance ties that cost $3.60, buy a few of them for my husband for work. i almost never buy anything for myself there unless it's on the 80% off rack.

[Edited 12/8/13 8:29am]

tinaz said:

i worked at a ross years ago when i was 19 years old, had a lot of fun at that store, my co-workers were funny as hell! good times! i still shop at ross for some house items, and once in a while for dress shirts for my husband's job. they are pre-packaged and name brand for way cheaper than dept. stores.

Why the hell is Kohl's selling summer clothes in the winter, why?

Wall Street Journal (Kohl's CEO) said they're stores didn't do well over the Thanksgiving holiday. I only go into Kohl's because they have a big and/or tall section.... I purchase dress shirts for my brother. Marshall and Ross, those place look like someone threw a hand grenade up in there... I can't deal with or shop in chaos.