Kohl's

Wal-Mart, Target, Kmart and Kohl’s are all celebrating a milestone 50th anniversary this year. It’s hard to believe that all four were founded in the same year, but combined these stores changed the way America shops. Happy birthday to modern retail!

An animal advocacy organization is trying to use stockholder leverage to press Kohl's into swearing off fur. The Humane Society has placed a shareholder proposal on the agenda of the big retailer's annual meeting. The resolution asks shareholders to encourage the company to develop a policy by the end of the year to prohibit the sale of products that use animal fur. The Kohl's board opposes the measure.

Kohl's will start selling an exclusive "American Idol" clothing line in April, the department store said. The collection, called Authentic Icon, will be available in stores through June to coincide with the 11th season of the show. 

Kohl’s was honored with the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2012 Energy Star Award for Sustained Excellence at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. The award recognizes Kohl’s long-term commitment to protecting the environment through energy-efficiency initiatives. Kohl’s was recognized by the EPA in 2010 and 2011 as an Energy Star Partner of the Year, and in 2011 also became the first retailer to be named an EPA Green Power Partner of the Year for three consecutive years.

Kohl's has announced the grand opening of eight new stores in seven states, including Florida, Illinois, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. The retailer, which now operates 1,134 stores in 49 states, says the new units will create 1,000 new jobs. Kohl's reported it will also remodel 50 stores this year. 

Kohl's has joined a handful of other up-and-coming masters of retailing in spreading brick-and-mortar stores nationwide during the suburban building boom. Now, however, Kohl's real estate ambitions are waning as the retailer deals with the effects of online retailing and slower growth overall in its physical stores.

Kohl's is the recipient of the People's Pick award in the Harris Poll Customer Relationship Series. The award recognizes the strength of consumers' bonds with midtier department stores and reflects their connections and future intentions.

High fashion may not be the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of Kohl's, but the retailer is trying to associate its name with just that. Using social media, the department store is promoting six of the designer labels it carries in its stores to not only be seen as a high end retailer, but also to increase traffic to its Facebook page and website as well as interaction with Facebook fans.

Kohl’s, Supervalu and Walgreens were among dozens of companies that joined President Obama and former President Bill Clinton this week announcing nearly $4 billion in federal and private sector energy upgrades to buildings over the next two years.

Most retailers are feeling quite merry after the start of the holiday shopping season drew a record number of visitors to their websites and stores. Shares of most major retailers soared in Monday trading, amid a broad market rally. The National Retail Federation estimates a record 226 million shoppers went to stores and websites during the four-day holiday weekend that started on Thanksgiving Day, up from 212 million last year. Each of them spent more this year too, shelling out $398.62 over the weekend, on average, compared with $365.34 a year ago. "Black Friday did not disappoint," Wedbush analyst