Kohl's Becomes Latest Retailer To Jump On The Outlet Bandwagon

By Christine Kern, contributing writer

Kohl’s piloting an “Off Aisle By Kohl’s” Store featuring returns at deep discounts.

Kohl’s Corp. has become the latest retailer to enter the off-price arena with a pilot “Off Aisle by Kohl’s” store that will open in Cherry Hill, NJ. The pilot is beginning with a single store as a test, and it will feature returns from Kohl’s stores or website at deep discounts of 70 to 90 percent off, Fortune reported. All sales will be final, with no returns or exchanges allowed.

“Off-Aisle by Kohl’s is a single store that will enable Kohl’s to test new ways to provide our customers with the opportunity to purchase merchandise at a highly discounted price,” Kohl’s spokeswoman Jen Johnson told Fortune, noting that other merchandise could be added later. There is no current plan to open additional Off-Aisle locations, she added.

Macy’s also made a recent announcement that it will pilot four off-price stores in New York City dubbed “Backstage.”  But while Macy’s Backstage will sell clearance goods from its 800 department stores, the Kohl’s Off-Aisle will sell only returned items for now. 

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported that the company would not comment on the future of additional off-price stores elsewhere in the country. Last month, the retailer applied for a trademark on the phrase “Off Aisle by Kohl’s.”

“With any test, we don’t like to say what we think we might do with it,” Jen Johnson, vice president of corporate communications, told the Journal-Sentinel. “We just want to test it….We are at the information-gathering stage at what this location will accomplish, and then we’ll make decisions.”

The new 30,000 square foot retail space is on a high-traffic street in Cherry Hill, N.J., outside Philadelphia.