Kohl's CEO Talks Focus On Wellness, Amazon Partnership With CNBC's Cramer

Kohl's Corporation (NYSE: KSS) CEO Michelle Gass told CNBC's Jim Cramer in a Wednesday interview that 20 percent of total sales come from the active and wellness segments, and the department store has plans to make it an even bigger part of the business.

Active, Wellness Focus

Kohl's has doubled its active and wellness sales over the past four years, and the segment will become "even more important" to the company's success, Gass said in the interview. The company plans on expanding its product assortment by more than 25 percent across 160 stores to include new product lines and partnerships, she said.

One of Kohl's partners in the active and wellness space is Planet Fitness Inc (NYSE: PLNT), with which Kohl's will convert as much as 25,000 square feet at 10 stores into a gym, Gass said. The rationale is that Planet Fitness customers will be able to walk into a Kohl's store to buy new workout gear, the CEO said.

Brick-And-Mortar In An Online World

One of the biggest drawbacks of online shopping is the hassle associated with returning a product.

Kohl's announced a unique partnership with online giant Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) in 2017 by which Amazon shoppers can drop their return packages off at select Kohl's stores.

Gass said the partnership is a win-win for both Kohl's and Amazon, as 80 percent of Americans live within a 10-mile radius of a Kohl's store.

Consumers can bring their product to be returned to Amazon for free and Kohl's will offer Amazon hardware devices for sale such as the Echo.

"We can really leverage each other's strengths," Gass said.

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Public domain photo via Wikimedia.

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