MENOMONEE FALLS, WI (WTAQ) – A former Starbucks executive who has spent the last two years at Kohl’s Corporation has been given a promotion.
Chief customer officer Michelle Gass was named Thursday as Kohl’s chief merchandising officer. It’s a post that’s been vacant for 14 months.
Gass was credited with playing a major role in a turnaround of Starbucks — and the Menomonee Falls-based Kohl’s Department Stores brought her in to try and do the same.
She has overseen marketing, e-commerce, and the growth of a rewards’ program which now has 30 million members.
Kohl’s CEO Kevin Mansell said it became clear that product control and customer engagement are linked completely — and it has given Gass a learning curve to adapt to her new role. He said Gass did not have a lot of experience with department store retailing, so he wanted to make sure she was ready before promoting her.
Besides the online business, Kohl’s has 1,164 brick and mortar department stores around the country.
(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)
