Will Kohl's close more stores in 2026? CEO gives update.

The department store chain Kohl’s isn’t planning on a wave of store closures this year after shuttering nearly 30 underperforming stores nationwide in 2025. But it’s not planning many new openings either.

CEO Michael Bender said during the company’s earnings call on March 10 that he did not expect significant store openings or closings this year, according to a transcript of the call. The Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin-based company has 11 locations on Long Island, according to the company’s website.

"I would not anticipate any sort of grand plan of saying we are taking stores out or adding stores at this point," Bender said.

Kohl’s has around 1,150 stores in the U.S. and the "vast majority," or over 90%, are profitable, Bender said during the call. He added that the company will continue to evaluate its stores "on an annual basis."

"The focus for us is actually on optimizing what we already have," Bender continued. "We will be focused on making sure that we continue to push the stores’ productivity as far as we can going forward."

Like other department store chains, Kohl's has struggled to compete with online retail giants. Kohl’s closed two stores in Michigan this month, the Detroit Free Press reported, following a decline in sales. The company’s net sales dropped 4% in 2025 compared with the year before, according to Kohl’s.

That drop in sales is lower than in 2024, when Kohl’s ended the year with a 7.2% decrease compared with the prior year.

Following that slump, Kohl’s closed 27 underperforming locations across 15 states in 2025. 

As of Wednesday morning, the price on the company's stock (KSS on the NYSE) had declined 42% year to date, trading at $12.28 per share.