Kohl's 2Q Earnings Fall More Than 12%

Menomonee Falls, Mich. Kohl's Corp. said Thursday that its second-quarter profit fell more than 12% as same-store sales dipped due to a consumer pullback in spending.

The company said it earned $236 million during the three-month period ending in August. That was down from the same period last year, when Kohl's earned $269.2 million.

Sales rose 3.8% to $3.7 billion, while same-store sales fell 4.6%.

Kohl's chairman and CEO Larry Montgomery said margins improved in the quarter as the company saw greater penetration of its private and exclusive brands, which also helps Kohl's keep expenses down.

"We remain conservative in our sales expectations for the fall season and will manage our business accordingly," Montgomery said in a statement. "We are well positioned to chase business should the environment improve."

Kohl's opened 28 stores in the first six months of the year and ended the quarter with 957 stores in 47 states.

The company expects to open 47 more stores this year, bringing its total for the fiscal year to 75. In the next fiscal year, Kohl's said it expects to open about 50 stores and remodel 60.