Kohl's (NYSE: KSS) is proving to be one of the pivotal stocks market watchers with nothing better to do on Black Friday are keying in on.
The chain, according to experts, is entering the Christmas selling season not feeling so merry after its third-quarter earnings report hit the market with a thud. The retailer badly missed on its top- and bottom-line estimates and cut its full-year outlook.
While the mid-tier department store blamed its troubles on an "increasingly competitive promotional environment," it doesn't look like Kohl's partnership with Amazon is helping any. The program under which the company accepts returns for the e-commerce giant was supposed to bring more customers through its doors, which would hopefully lead to incremental sales growth.
However, based on its comparable-store sales, which are up by an anemic 0.4% -- below analysts' consensus prediction of a 0.8% rise -- whatever store traffic gains it's realizing from that partnership aren't translating into many sales.
Last week, the chain reported net sales of $4.359 billion, down only slightly from the prior-year quarter’s $4.368 billion. Net income proved only $123 million, compared to $161 million in the prior-year quarter.
Kohl’s stock began Black Friday down 66 cents, or 1.4%, to $47.66
