Kohl’s Taps an Insider for Chief Marketing Role
Kohl’s Corp., filling a key role in the organization, has appointed Christie Raymond chief marketing officer, reporting directly to chief executive officer Michelle Gass.
Raymond has been serving as the interim chief marketing officer since May 2022, when she succeeded Greg Revelle, who left the company.
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Raymond joined Kohl’s in 2017 as senior vice president, media and personalization, and was promoted to executive vice president, customer engagement, analytics and insights in June 2020. Prior to Kohl’s, Christie held jobs at The Walt Disney Company. She has more than 20 years of marketing, retail industry and leadership experience.
In the Kohl’s announcement Monday, Gass cited Raymond’s “tremendous experience and customer-driven leadership approach to the marketing organization,” said Gass.
As head of the marketing organization, Raymond will be responsible for the overall marketing strategy, brand and creative, media, loyalty, customer analytics, corporate communications and philanthropic efforts.
“To support the company’s strategy to be the retailer of choice for the active and casual lifestyle, she will drive customer engagement, leverage our leadership in loyalty, accelerate customer traffic, scale Kohl’s media network and continue to build the Kohl’s brand,” the company said in its statement.
Kohl’s is continuing to search for a new chief merchant, but has Ron Murray serving as interim chief merchandising officer. Doug Howe, who was the off-mall retailer’s chief merchandising officer since 2018, also left the company last spring. Howe had a big portfolio at Kohl’s, overseeing all of its merchandise strategy, including digital, merchandising and buying, planning and allocation, product design, development and sourcing, and merchandise strategy and innovation.
A new chief merchant would strive to further Kohl’s reputation for catering to people’s casual and active lifestyles and accelerate efforts to be more inclusive and relevant to consumers while hoping to reverse recent weak sales trends. Recently, Kohl’s launched a merchandising format called “Discover @ Kohl’s” involving curating dozens of emerging, established and diverse-owned brands that are new to the retailer — a departure from the types of brands Kohl’s shoppers ordinarily identify with it.
