All 41 Kohl’s stores in Wisconsin planning to reopen by Tuesday
About two months after closing all stores nationwide, Kohl’s Corp. will reopen 34 of its 41 Wisconsin stores Friday at 11 a.m.
The remaining seven stores will remain closed until May 26 at 11 a.m. Those stores are in counties with local orders that don’t expire until next week.
All 41 stores have been closed since March 20 when Kohl’s closed all of its more than 1,100 stores nationwide. The seven stores opening Tuesday are Madison East, Madison West, Madison South, Appleton North, Darboy, Racine and Janesville.
Kohl’s started reopening stores May 4. As of May 18, it had reopened more than 50% of its stores. Kohl’s has been reopening stores on a state-by-state basis by looking at health data, store readiness and local government guidelines.
The Menomonee Falls-based retailer is also beginning to bring employees back to its corporate office and Kohl’s Innovation Center Tuesday.
The voluntary return to the office will be phased over time with new precautions like temperature checks, social distancing measures and providing hand sanitizer and masks, the company said.
The reopened stores look significantly different than Kohl’s stores before the pandemic hit.
The stores are open for reduced hours from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily with dedicated hours for at-risk individuals from 11 a.m. to noon on Wednesdays.
The aisles have fewer displays in order to allow more space for customers. Signage and floor decals encourage customers and employees to keep six feet distance from others. Protective barriers separate cashiers and customers and will offer touchless payment through the Kohl’s App. The fitting rooms are closed. Store employees will wear masks and gloves.
After it closed stores, Kohl’s furloughed around 85,000 employees. Those store associates are now returning to work on a voluntary basis. Kohl’s said it has a 90% response rate of associates returning to store positions as stores reopen.
The company’s drive-up limitedcontact pickup service will continue. Reopened stores will also resume accepting Amazon returns.
The store closures delivered a significant hit to Kohl’s business — in-store sales accounted for 75% of all sales in 2019. Kohl’s sales were down by 43.5% in the first quarter of 2020 that ended May 2.