Kohl's Goals: Localized Assortments, Smaller-Format Stores

Calling assortment planning "probably the biggest initiative we have in the next two years," Kohl's CEO Kevin Mansell revealed during a recent conference call that the department store retailer would be rolling out a new assortment planning tool with "our technology partner SAS. "We've talked at length about the need to improve how we tailor our merchandise more appropriately by market so that it's on target to the customer that lives in that market," he added. "A lot of that has to do with having the right tools for our merchants and planners to use so that job becomes