Kohl’s has named Arianne Parisi as its new Chief Digital Officer (CDO), responsible for driving digital business through the department store’s website and app. Parisi, who brings 20 years of retail experience to the job, was most recently CDO at JD Sports Fashion and has extensive merchandising experience from her time at The Sports Authority.
“As the pace of retail transformation accelerates, Kohl’s can uniquely serve today’s families,” said Parisi in a statement. “I’m honored to join and support our incredible teams as we enhance the digital experience for our 60 million customers, creating a seamless, inspiring and personalized journey that reflects how they shop and live today.”
In May 2025 Kohl’s ousted CEO Ashley Buchanan for “engaging in vendor transactions that involved undisclosed conflicts of interest,” though the Kohl’s board stressed that Buchanan’s termination was not related to the company’s performance and didn’t involve anyone else. Board Chair Michael Bender was appointed interim CEO at that time.
“Arianne’s deep experience leading digital teams at omnichannel retailers will allow her to hit the ground running and help us in our efforts to enhance our customers’ experience whenever they shop with us, strengthen the total business and improve, simplify and drive the digital experience,” said Bender in a statement.
Also in May 2025, Kohl’s made a private sale offering of approximately $360 million of secured notes due in 2030, putting up 11 DCs and ecommerce fulfillment facilities as collateral. Like many department store retailers, Kohl’s has been struggling in the current environment. For Q1 2025, which ended May 3, 2025, Kohl’s generated $3 billion in net sales, a 4.1% decrease compared to the same period the previous year. Comparable sales declined by 3.9% for the quarter.