The web once more outpaces store sales at Kohl’s

Web sales grew while store sales dropped for Kohl’s Corp. in the second quarter.

For the quarter ended Aug. 2, e-commerce revenue for Kohl’s increased by 34.1% to $65.6 million from $48.9 million in the prior year. At the same time, Kohl’s, No. 63 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, posted net income of $236 million on sales of $3.72 billion, compared with net income of $269.2 million on revenue of $3.59 billion in Q2 of the previous year.

In the second quarter, overall revenue grew year over year by 3.6% while comparable store sales dropped by 4.6%. The web and e-commerce accounted for 2% of total sales, but generated 13% of growth across all channels.

For the first two quarters, e-commerce sales for Kohl’s rose year over year by 31.1% to $132.8 million from $101.3 million. Overall Kohl’s also posted net income of $389 million on revenue of $7.34 billion vs. net income of $478.2 million on sales of $7.16 billion in the prior period. Comparable store sales dropped by 5.6%. “We remain conservative in our sales expectations for the fall season and will manage our business accordingly,” says Kohl’s chairman Larry Montgomery. “We are well positioned to chase business should the environment improve.”

In August, Montgomery was replaced as CEO by Kohl’s president Kevin Mansell, who will continue to oversee e-commerce. As board chairman, Montgomery will retain management responsibility for growth and talent management, including human resources, legal and real estate development.