05-07-2025
Ashley Buchanan became Kohl’s CEO on January 15 of this year. The company fired him because he “violated company policies by directing the company to engage in vendor transactions that involved undisclosed conflicts of interest.” Buchanan worked as the chief executive officer of Michaels before coming to Kohl’s. He had held the role at the craft store since 2020. Kohl’s Chairman of the Board, Michael Bender, will serve as interim CEO, effective immediately.
According to Kohl’s statement, Buchanan’s termination was unrelated to the company’s performance or any other business-related operations. The department store chain has seen sales fall. There is reduced interest from younger shoppers, and middle-income shoppers are spending less because of high prices for necessities. The chain has not posted a sales increase since late 2021 (The New York Times). Kohl’s has had three CEOs over the last three years. Buchanan did not respond to press requests for a comment.
Kohl’s discovered Buchanan’s trespasses after an outside firm finished its investigation. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Kohl’s said Buchanan had ordered the company to “conduct business with a vendor founded by an individual with whom Mr. Buchanan has a personal relationship on highly unusual terms favorable to the vendor.” This same individual was also part of a consulting team that obtained a multimillion-dollar agreement with Kohl’s at Buchanan’s direction. Buchanan did not disclose his personal connection to this person to Kohl’s. He will lose all equity awards he received from the company. He must also reimburse Kohl’s for a pro rata portion of his $2.5 million signing incentive.