Specialty departmental store
Kohl's Corporation
(
KSS
) recently opened nine new stores, with two stores in Iowa, two
in Pennsylvania, and one each in Alabama, Illinois, North Dakota,
Oregon and Texas. These stores have created 950 jobs across the
nation and raised the Kohl's store count to 1,155 stores across
49 states. In addition, Kohl's has plans to remodel 30 locations
in fiscal 2013.
Kohl's new stores are well-designed and provide a number of
features including updated checkout stations, newly designed
shopping carts and strollers, larger customer service area,
Wi-Fi, upgraded fitting rooms and many more. Eight of the new
stores have received Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design (LEED) certification, which enables Kohl's to use more
than 20% recycled and 20% regionally sourced building materials,
cool white ENERGY STAR-rated roofs and water-efficient
landscaping and plumbing fixtures and many other attributes.
Kohl's did not open or close any store in the quarter, results
of which were reported on Feb 28. During fiscal 2012, Kohl's
opened 21 new stores, including 1 relocated store, closed 1 store
and completed 50 remodels.
Kohl's fourth quarter earnings of $1.66 beat the Zacks
Consensus Estimate of $1.63 per share but lagged the prior-year
earnings figure due to loss of sales during the holiday season.
Net sales exceeded both the Zacks Consensus Estimate and
prior-year sales, driven by an increase in comparable store
sales. Strong growth of leading brands and improved performance
from children's, men's and women's categories drove sales.
Kohl's now has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Other consumer staples
stocks that warrant a look include
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc
(
GMCR
),
Fred's Inc
(
FRED
) and
Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cotta
(
NGVC
). Green Mountain carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while
Fred's and Natural Grocers hold a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
FREDS INC (FRED): Free Stock Analysis Report
GREEN MTN COFFE (GMCR): Free Stock Analysis
Report
KOHLS CORP (KSS): Free Stock Analysis Report
NATURAL GROCERS (NGVC): Free Stock Analysis
Report
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